


Roses and Music Sheets

by Weirdodobird_Raven18



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst for Keith, Arranged Marriage, Bilingual Lance (Voltron), Bottom Keith (Voltron), Bottom Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Flashbacks, Guitarist Keith (Voltron), Hispanic Lance (Voltron), Historical References, How Do I Tag, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, Hunk is a sweetheart, I Need To Fix The Time Setting, I Ship It, I cradled you in my arms, I would probably be doing some heavy editing, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Japanese Keith (Voltron), Korean Keith (Voltron), Lance and Keith are engaged, Langst, M/M, Multi, My first story forgive me, Other, Parental Relationships Are All Over The Place, Power Bottom Keith (Voltron), Power Bottom Lance (Voltron), Rebirth, References to Depression, Romeo and Juliet AU, Shiro and Allura are dead, Sloppy Makeouts, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, Slow Updates, Smut, Smuts will probably be sweet, Switch Keith, Symbols, Tags Are Hard, The Author Regrets Everything, They all have issues, Top Keith (Voltron), Top Lance (Voltron), Topping from the Bottom, We All Want It, We had a bonding moment, and author, angst for lance, artist lance, bonding moment, for everyone, from enemies to lovers, i wrote this before season 7 came out, keith is oblivious, klance, lance is in denial, musician keith, shallura - Freeform, sorry - Freeform, star crossed lovers au, switch Lance, then will turn very kinky, they're human too, we all do
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-21 01:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 51,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14274261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weirdodobird_Raven18/pseuds/Weirdodobird_Raven18
Summary: Many years ago...Two lovers took their lives in an act of unadulterated love for each other.Word of what happened spread, and a story was made to honor those lovers. But what many didn't know, was what happened after the events of the story.The families of the two lovers agreed, that in honor of the star crossed lovers, they would marry their children to each other. But fate was cruel and Venus was angered. She cursed the family, that no matter how many times they try to marry off their children, they will suffer the same fate as the lovers. The curse will only be lifted, when the reincarnation of the two lovers have been united.Many years later...Lance hated Keith, and Keith isn't fond of Lance. The last thing they expected their parents to do was to marry them off to each other, and you can guess what happened next...Romeo and Juliet AU





	1. In the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I'm horrible at these things, but it's my first story. I hope it doesn't suck too bad...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Life is a road and I wanna keep goin'  
> Love is a river I wanna keep flowing  
> Life is a road now and forever wonderful journey"  
> \- In the Beginning   
> By Richard Marx and Donna Lewis

_"Long ago..._

_In a faraway land, with trees green as emeralds. And skies blue as sapphires, and waters clear as crystals. Lived two young lovers..._

_Allura, of the Altea family and Shiro, of the Galra family. Two families whose hatred for each other, was known throughout the land._

_They both knew that their parents can never accept their love, so they ran away. Away from the beautiful land, away from their families, away from the feud. They wanted to be with each other in peace, and they did. Until Lotor, Shiro's most trusted friend, revealed to the Galra where they were. The two families were enraged, and took their weapons and went on to find the two._

_Having nowhere else to go, and knowing what will become of them after their families get them, they took their lives. Ended their story, in tragedy and blood._

 

_When end the two families discovered the lifeless bodies, curled against each other in a cold embrace with a bloody knife by their side, they were distraught. The two families decided to end the feud, by marrying Shiro's niece and Allura's nephew._

_But Venus had other plans._

_Seeing the pain the families have caused their children, who wanted nothing but peace and love, she cursed the two families. Saying with a stern voice;_

 

_'No matter how many times you try to make up for what you did, the blood of the lovers killed by your feud will follow you for eternity._

_Until, those two lovers be reincarnated and be united once again.'_

_The day before the wedding, Shiro's niece fell ill and died. Allura's nephew had fallen into a river, the same day, and died._

_Legend has it, that the descendants of the families still try to create a union but always ends in tragedy."_

"Will Shiro and Allura be reincarnated, mama?" The story teller simply smiled, before petting her child's hair. 

"We are not sure, love."

 

"When we'll will be sure?"

 

"Some day soon, I hope."

 

"Goodnight, mama"

 

"Goodnight, Keith."

 


	2. Perfect Strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two young ones, both alike in dignity.  
> In fair Voltron city, where we lay our scene.  
> From ancient grudge, that may bring new tragedy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "Perfect Strangers by Jonas Blue."

 

* * *

Mornings are beautiful.

 

The sun's bright yet gentle rays, slowly bringing forth a new day. The rosy pink hue of the sky, the morning song of the birds in the trees. The refreshing feel of the wind, the almost crystalline look of the dewdrops on plants.

What type of person would be able to miss such a spectacle?

Because those types of people, are missing out on the wonderous beauties brought by Mother Nature, and her gentle caresses. 

Young Lance McClain definitely wasn't one of those people, oh no, he prefers waking up before the sun rises just to watch all these events unfold. He certainly isn't like the children of his age group, who'd rather sleep till the afternoon rather than wake up early. But he wasn't always like this. When he was younger, even younger than now, he would always make a fuss about waking up. It made most of his nannies lose their minds, due to his stubborn behavior. But all of that changed, when his latest nanny came in his life. Before he went to bed every night, she'd tell him stories about the magical things that happen before the sun rises. 

How the sun rises by being pulled by a golden chariot with horses set ablaze, running in a speed the human eye could never be able to catch. And how little elves would sprinkle left over rainwater all over the plants and grass, to make dewdrops. As well as little fairies waking up the birds, so that they could sing their morning song. But his favorite has always been, and forever will be, the giant Red and Blue lions chasing each other around to make the sky change color. The Red lion gets a head start in the morning, so that's why the sky has a reddish Pink hue to it. But by the time the sun has risen, the Blue lion will be able to catch up. But sometimes, when it rains, the Blue lion gets stuck because—according to his nanny—it likes to play in the water. But by the end of the day, they always finish in a tie. That's why at dusk, the sky's Purple. And at night, the two lions are always too tired. So the sky is void of any other color, except Black and the slight tinge of Purple.

These stories are what drive him to wake up early every morning. The reason why he has a telescope with him at dawn, trying to get a glimpse of the chariot and its flaming horses. The reason he has his camera and net ready, to be able to catch an elf or a fairy. The reason why, no matter what time of the day it is, he always watch the sky. Cheering the Blue lion on, in his race against the Red lion. Even though his favorite color is Red, but could you really blame him for rooting for the Blue lion? Red lion always has a head start, so it's only right he roots for the Blue lion. 

But if he is unable to catch an elf or fairy, or see the golden chariot. Lance always goes straight to the gardens, so every morning he brings his sketch book and pencils with him, along with his supplies. His favorite spot in the garden, is the fountain. Instead of water, the fountain has rose bushes growing within it. He spends the rest of the morning, usually drawing the picturesque look of the Rose Fountain. But he always come a back home, when he'd be able to smell the scent of fried eggs and bacon from the kitchen.

* * *

 

But today, he was a bit behind schedule...

 

He was seated near the Rose Fountain, as per usual, expertly sketching a picture of a rose in his sketch book. When a rustle by the end of the garden was heard. Being the brave and curious little boy he was, Lance immediately grabbed his net, hoping to catch a fairy or elf and show them to his nanny. Standing from his seat, net clutched in hand, he silently walked towards the source of the sound. He took a small stone by the side of the fountain, and made his way to the end of the garden. He was sure that there was nothing but forest behind the large Green plant wall, so this fueled his belief that it may be some forest being that found its way near their estate. 

From afar, he could smell the scent of breakfast being cooked. His tummy grumbled, but he could eat later. This creature would definitely not wait for Lance to eat first, _then_ catch it. Closing nearer to the source of the rustling, he held his net up high in his right hand, readying for the attack by gripping on the stone in his other. He pushed away a couple of leaves, and was surprised to see a girl—or was it a boy?—with neck-length hair and large Violet eyes, holding a Red rose in hand, hiding. 

The girl screamed, and sprinted to make her way towards the direction of the forest. Lance, being the brave eight year old he was, screamed as well. Throwing the small stone at the girl, which hit her by the shin. He tried to chase after her, but tripped on a rock. Groaning in pain, whilst rubbing his forehead. Because him being him, he gracefully fell on his face. He looked at the direction the girl ran towards, and saw that she was nothing but a small speck away from him. She was either really fast, or he was laying on his face for too long. 

_Violet._

_Like the sky, whenever the Blue lion and Red lion tied in their race. A very pretty shade of Violet..._

"Sir Lance!" The familiar voice of his butler was heard, but Lance couldn't careless. His forehead hurt, and he most definitely scrapped his knee. But all that pain, didn't matter to the eight year old boy. The emerald Green of the forest, the song of the birds, the refreshing cool wind passing by. As well as the distant smell of breakfast, and the smell of detergent from their butler. All of that, could all be ignored. Because Lance couldn't get the beautiful shade of Violet eyes out of his head, as well as the fast beating of his heart in his chest. From that day forth, Lance knew that he was never the same.

 

Because that was the day, his heart was first stolen. All by the Violet eyed stranger, that stole a rose from the Fountain.

* * *

  _4 years later..._

 

"That sounds dumb," stated a petite girl with short hair and round glasses, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Lance rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Of course you wouldn't understand, gremlins don't reproduce like humans."  The brunette retorted smugly. The girl rolled her eyes back, before taking a sip from her soda pop. "The idea of 'Love' is like propaganda for people to make more babies, as if over population isn't already a problem." Lance laughed out loudly, but noticed how serious Pidge looked. "Seriously, Pidgeon. The more I spend time with you, the more I begin to understand why you actually like Thanos. I mean the guy killed—"Hunk, cut him off, fingers in his ears. "La la la la la! I'm not listening!" Pidge chuckled at their antics, before turning to facethe tall boy once more. "What did they say about mystery girl?" Pidge asked, looking away from her computer screen, clearly interested now. Lance frowned before he shook his head, playing with the straw of his milkshake.

"No, not really. I asked the staff about it, but they all just told me that it was probably just some lost kid." Hunk and Pidge looked at each other, then gave Lance a symapathetic look. He gave them a small smile, which slowly turned into a cheeky grin. "But hey, if we are meant to be. Then the universe would work its magic, get us to meet, right?" He closed his eyes for a brief moment, vividly remembering the shade of Violet the girl's eyes were. Which reminded him...

"I remember trying to sketch her face from memory, and here's what I did." He pulled out his old sketch book, and flipped through various pages. Most of his drawings were of the flowers in the garden, how he imagined the two lions were like, and even how their house looked like from the garden's angle. But by the very back of the sketch book, at the last page, was a drawing of a girl clutching a rose and looking at him with wide eyes. The rest of the drawing was black and white, save for the eyes. Lance spent a lot of time, mixing paint and different shades of Purple and Blue, just to create the similar color to the girl's eyes. 

He passed the sketch book to his friends, who stared at the drawing intently. Pidge's eyes were calculating, seemingly measuring the symmetry and geometric shapes found within the drawing. While Hunk was studying the drawing in awe, gently tracing the lines with feather-like touches against the paper. After about two minutes of staring at the drawing, they gave him back the sketch book. "Well, if your first love turns out to be a criminal, at least you have a pretty good sketch of them." Pidge said jokingly, gently punching the taller boy's shoulder. Lance shook his head, flashing the petite girl a smile. "It's amazing, Lance." Hunk complemented in awe, Lance finger gunned towards him. "I always am," he said cockily.

Pidge grumbled something under her breath, before looking back at her computer screen. They spent the rest of their time exchanging stories, and eating before Lance's phone began to ring. He took his phone out, and looked at the caller ID. 

_**Mama Dearest**_

He accepted the call and pressed his phone against his ear, but before he could greet her. Her unusually stern voice cut him off. His mama rarely speaks in that tone, she usually talks with a happy go lucky and carefree voice. With the slight bit of a Spanish accent that slips, but besides that his mama never spoke in such a tone, lest it was a serious matter.

_"You need to come home, mijo."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NO SPOILERS FOR INFINITY WAR PLEASE
> 
> Please don't forget to leave  
> kudos and comments, I'm always happy to hear from you guys!


	3. This Is Not My Idea

* * *

 

Lance bid his friends farewell, and exited the food court. By the exit, he was greeted by his nanny of four years, Miss Honerva. When she saw him, she gave him a bright smile. Her smile was so infectious, that it made Lance follow suit. "Sir Lance, where to now?" She asked, placing a hand on his shoulder as they walked. Honerva was a middle aged woman, a few grey streaks appearing in her hair. Gentle Lavender eyes, with smile lines decorating her face. She had been there with him, since he was eight. She was the one who told him all those stories, it made him laugh how he actually fell for them all. Lance looked at her, seemingly trying to find some answer written on her face. Honerva frowned, and ran her long, thin fingers through his hair. "What's wrong, sir Lance?" The young boy pursed his lips, before grimacing. "Did mama tell you anything this morning?" Honerva sighed, placing her hand back on his shoulder. He looked at her, hoping to get a clear answer. He trusted her, he knew that she would never lie to him. Unless, it were to cover up something big. "It would be better if your mother was the one to explain... If it would come from me, you'd be very confused." Lance looked away, pondering about what could it possibly be. "Let's just go home, so that everything can be clarified."

* * *

The car ride home was endured in silence, something very rare whenever Lance was in the car. The young boy watched as different trees passed them by, as they drove through the familiar route of their house. Speaking of their house, it was hardly a house. It was more of an old mansion than a house, if Lance were to be asked. Something one would see in the telenovelas the maids would watch—not that he watches those shows with them. It was founded on a large lot of land, all of which belonged to them. The house and land, had been in their family for generations and generations. It was passed down from parent to child, as a tradition. But when it was passed down to his great great grandfather, he sold the house and land. It angered their whole clan, and his great great grandfather was shunned. The house only came back to their possession, when his grandfather bought it. Who then passed it down to his father, who promised Lance that he'd pass it down to him. 

Lance never understood the thing with their family and that house, he never saw anything special about that house to be even passed down to a next of kin. The only thing Lance liked about that house was the garden at the back, the one near the forest. The place where he saw the thief who stole his heart, the Mysterious Rose Girl. 

As they got nearer to the gates, the car stopped. The guard got out of his little station by the gate, and went over to get an identification. 

_He must be new._

Lance thought, seeing that the guard was unable to recognize the plate of the car. Upon seeing who the vehicle's passenger was, the guard became flushed and went back to open the gate. As the car entered the gate, Lance asked the driver to stop. He rolled down the tinted window, so that he'll be able to see the guard's face. "Sir Lance, I'm so sorry I was unable to recognize the plate number. Please sir, please forgive me." Lance smiled at him, and nodded. "Don't worry, man. It was an accident. Lemme guess, it's your first day?" The guard nodded, before wiping the sweat off his brow. "What's your name?" Lance asked, the guard visibly gulped. "Uh, Haxus, sir." Lance stared at him, before nodding. "Okay, Haxus. Good luck on your first day, nice meeting you!" He rolled up the window, and the car began to move again. Haxus was left dumbfounded, obviously surprised at his boss' son's friendliness. 

Honerva and Lance exited the car, when they it stopped at the main entrance. Lance immediately ran up the steps, leaving Honerva and some other maid to bring up the bags full of facial creams and nosestrips he bought. For a twelve year old boy, Lance was pretty keen on making sure his face was clear of the usual blemishes that appear during puberty. The young boy made his way towards his father' so study, where he could hear people chattering. The door was closed, so he knocked, fearing the scolding that would be given to him if he'd disturb an important meeting. The door opened, and Lance could see his mother and father. Along with another couple, and a kid about the same age as him. The sound of the door opening, caught his mother's attention. "Lance, _mijo_! You're home!" She made his way towards him, and wrapped him in a warm embrace. Mr. McClain stood from his seat, to greet his son. "Lance, how was the mall?" He placed his hand on his son's head, as his mother pulled away from the embrace. Lance grinned cheekily at them, before speaking. "It was great!" The couple chuckled at their son, before leading him inside the room and closing the door.

His father went back to his seat, and his mother stood beside him with her hands on Lance's shoulders. They stayed opposite from the family in front of them. "Lance, these are the Koganes." His father introduced, the parents smiled warmly at him while their child stayed hidden behind his mother. "That's Mr and Mrs. Kogane," he gestured towards the couple. "And that's their son, Keith Kogane." His mother gestured towards the kid hiding behind his mother, who slowly showed himself after hearing his name. "Keith, go on now." Mrs. Kogane gently guided 'Keef' to show himself, so Lance got a good look at him. Keef was skinny, and was wearing cargo shorts and a Red and Black long sleeved t shirt. His legs were also covered in bandages, and his hair was long too. It was about neck length, a mullet was what it was called according to Mr. Kogane.

"I told him to get Keith's hair cut, but he always refused." Mrs. Kogane said jokingly, while Mr. Kogane looked almost hurt at what was said. "But it was so fashionable in the 80's," he argued. "That was the 80's, dear. It's the 21st century." The adults laughed at the response, as Lance continued to observed Keef. He was pretty pale, but not in a sickly way. And his hair wasn't almost black, it had a bit of a purple tinge to it. But what caught Lance's attention the most was his eyes, it looked so familiar. As if he'd seen him before...

Then it dawned on Lance...

"You're the kid that stole a rose from my Abuela's garden four years ago!" Keef's eyes widened, as did their parents'. "Wait, you two have met before?" Mr. Kogane asked, looking at Keith and then at Lance. The Raven went quiet, a small he thought. "What?" Lance scoffed, and crossed his arms over his chest. "You snuck into our garden and stole a rose!" Keith blinked, trying to remember. "I seriously don't know, man." The Raven stated, unable to remember. The tan boy scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Lies, that's what thieves always do after they steal." Keith narrowed his eyes at the boy, while the other glared at him. "I'm not lying, and even if that was true. What would I do with a rose?" Lance uncrossed his arms, before looking away in annoyance. "I don't know, put it your girly hair maybe." The young McClain muttered, eyeing the mullet with disgust. "What's your problem with my hair anyway!" Keith exclaimed, having enough of Lance's comments. "Why?! Can't I just voice my opinions?!" The brunet exclaimed, pushing Keith away from him.

"Well, can't you just treat your freaking opinions like your butthole! I know that everyone has one, but no need to show it!" The Raven answered, mirroring the brunette's earlier actions. "Now, kids..." Mrs. Kogane warned, eyeing the two warily. This gentle pushing, turned to shoving. And before they knew it, Lance was on top of Keith, pulling at his mullet. "Mulletheaded Thief!" Keith rolled them over, and began throwing punches at Lance. "Lying Bastard!" They continued to fight and roll around Mr. McClain's office for about seven minutes, before their parents got them off of each other. "Keith! We are guests here! We don't hit our hosts!" Mr. and Mrs. Kogane scolded, while the thirteen year old boy continued to glare at the brunet, despite the pain on his cheek and head.

"Lance! What's gotten into you?! Why would you attack Keith?! This is very disappointing young man," Mr. McClain said with a scowl. "Now, Lance. Apologize to Keith," his mother ordered. 

"Apologize, Keith." The two kids looked at each other with bitterness and hatred, before reluctantly stomping forward. "Sorry," Lance mumbled. "Yeah, sorry too." Was Keith's response, as he looked away from the other's general direction. "Now, shake hands you two." The two boys looked at their respective parents in disbelief, only to be given a stern look. Hesitantly, the two outstretched their arms and shook hands. Both had a death-like grip on each other's hand, looking angrily into each other's eyes before pulling away. "Oh my God, we're so sorry for how our son acted. We didn't know what got into him!" Mr. McClain explained, giving Lance angry side glances.

Mr. Kogane shook his head, as his wife pulled their son aside to talk. "No,  _we're_ sorry. Our Keith can be a little ill-tempered sometimes," he said while rubbing the back of his neck. "How about we continue our conversation in the dining area?" Mrs. McClain suggested, as Mrs. Kogane and Keith walked back over. "That sounds lovely," the couples proceeded to exit the rooms and head towards the dining room. Keith walked behind his parents, as did Lance. The two continued to glare at each other, despite the warning glances from their parents. 

At the dining table, the adults laughed happily at something Mr. McClain said. While both Keith and Lance simply took small bites from their food, while glaring at each other. "Anyway, let's talk business now. Our kids are probably wondering, why we dragged them to this meeting." Mrs. Kogane said, before taking a drink from her wine. "Oh yes, of course." This exchange caught the kids' attention, as they looked at their parents questioningly. "As you kids may not of known, our families go way back." Lance and Keith threw looks at each other, before continuing to listen. "And it's become a tradition for our families, to marry a child from the Koganes and a child from the McClains to each other." Keith's eyes widened, while Lance almost spit out his juice. "So, it has been decided that you two will marry each other, the day the two of you come of age." The two boys looked at each other, and exchanged disgusted looks. "Ew! No way! I can't marry him! He's a boy that looks like a girl! He's still technically a boy! Why not Vero?" Lance exclaimed, gesturing towards Keith who seemingly agrees with him. "Well, just so you know, Lance. Gender has never stopped our families from trying to marry off their children to each other, and Veronica's too old for Keith." said Mr. Kogane. "And this has been planned since the day the two of you could walk, so there's no backing out of this one." It was Keith's turn to argue, looking at his parents. "You guys saw what happened earlier, we don't even get along! How do you expect us to be like when we get—umm, married?!" He mumbled a 'yuck' following that word, before sitting back down. Their parents were silenced, as they exchanged looks. As if they were having a silent conversation, and those types of conversations are usually the worst. The couples nodded at each other, before continuing with eating. The two boys were left in suspense, as their parents ate their food quietly. "So... No wedding then?" Lance asked, hoping for a yes. His papa took a drink, before looking at him seriously. "Simple, you two will learn to get along with each other before you two get married." He stated, as if it were that simple. "How?" Keith knew he'd regret asking that question, the moment it went out of his mouth. Seeing how his parents smirked at each other, before saying.

"You two will spend your summer vacations, together. For this year, Keith will be spending it here. And the next, Lance will be spending it with us. Now, doesn't that sound nice?" The two kids looked at each other, before looking back at their parents. They have them a moment of silence, waiting for; 'we're just joking, this wedding isn't happening. You two won't spend your summers together,' but there was nothing.

_"What?!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't forget to leave kudos and comments, I'm always happy to hear from you guys!


	4. Those Eyes

  

* * *

 

Keith hated this.

He never agreed to any of this. Yet, here he was. Backpack and all other necessities ready, with his parents standing beside him conversing with Mr. and Mrs. McClain. Keith took the time, to admire the house. There was a fountain in the middle of the house and the gate—but there was still enough space between the house and fountain to fit a car—and at least 7 or 8 steps leading up to the door. The entrance had two stone lions on each side, and one lion head above the entrance. He used to have a stuffed lion, he called him 'Red'. He never went anywhere without Red, but now he justs sits on a shelf in his room. In their house. Away from Lance. Mr. McClain caught him staring, and simply smiled at his curiosity and awe. "This house has been in my family for generations, some say it was built during 17th or 19th century and those lions are as old as the house itself." Mr. Kogane chuckled at his son, before turning to Mr. McClain. "Must have a lot of stories about this house and its history, yeah?" It was Mrs. McClain's turn to answer, the sweet smile on her face never faltering. "A lot indeed, some better known than others." The twinkle in all four adults' eyes. It was a secretive and mischievous twinkle, the kind that makes Keith feel a bit uneasy. "Oh, by the way. Where is Lance?" Mrs. Kogane asked, realizing the absence of the second youngest McClain family member. The couple sighed, while Keith turned to listen to their conversation, clearly interested this time. "Lance is in the garden, it's his favorite place in the whole house." Keith looked up at the mention of the garden. It made him wonder why the McClains and his parents have yet to discuss the issue that caused his and Lance's disagreement. He waited for a while, but the topic was never mentioned.

When his parents had to leave, Mrs. McClain turned to face him. Smiling, she placed a hand on his head. "Keith, as much as I'd love to stay home and give you a tour 'round the house. We have someplace to be," she said sadly. Keith nodded, already used to these kinds of situations, since both of his parents have jobs and are usually busy. "That's why we have Miss Honerva to show you around the house instead," Mr. McClain gestured towards the woman with kind Lavender colored eyes, who was smiling kindly at him. "She's been Lance's nanny, since he was eight." 

_He still has a nanny?_

He stored the information, if that idiot Lance would try to argue with him, he'll have something to use against him. Miss Honerva probably knows about the Rose thing, if she has been working here for the past four years. "Why don't you give your bag to Miss Honerva, and she'll show you your room." Keith nodded, and gave his bag to the woman. Mrs. McClain's attention shifted towards Miss Honerva, before speaking. "Oh, and by the way. Miss Honerva, please tell the maids to prepare some snacks. Keith must be hungry from the trip, and Lance definitely isn't gonna pass the opportunity to get food." The two women and Mr. McClain chuckled at that, before waving goodbye at Keith. With that, the couple left as well. Leaving Keith and Miss Honerva alone, not that he minded. She was rather quiet and soft spoken, and he likes quiet. "Sir Keith, let's go inside."

They inside, and made multiple different turns, went up 2 flights of stairs, passing multiple rooms and hallways. To be honest, this so called  _'house'_ , isn't even a house, it's more like a mansion. The walls were decorated by different paintings, but one caught Keith's eye in particular. It was a portrait of a beautiful young woman, with pale yet striking blue eyes and dark skin. She had a small smile on her lips, with her hands placed perfectly on her lap. She was wearing an yellow off-shoulder dress, with pink trimmings. Which dipped slightly in the middle, with a pink rose on her chest. Her white hair was tied in an Aurora braid, with a rose in her hair. The painting was at least, 5 ft in height and 3 ft in length. It had a gold frame, and at the bottom, embossed in cursive script was the name;  _'Allura'_. A very familiar name to Keith, as if he's heard it before. 

"That's Lady Allura of the Althea clan, an ancestor of the McClain family." Honerva spoke, for the first throughout the walk. "She's very beautiful," and Keith found himself unable to look away from the portrait. "Indeed, she was. She had every man in the land, falling on their knees, just to see her. But she was known to be a difficult one, headstrong and stubborn. She was against the idea of marriage and love, till she met her lover." Keith finally willed himself to look away, to gaze at Honerva, who stared sadly at the portrait. "But sadly, her death was a tragic one." She ushered him away from the painting, continuing on their way towards his room. When they got there, he was quick to notice the small plant box by the window. It had roses growing in them. The room was very big, with faded rose red walls. A queen sized bed, with cherry red covers. A mahogany beside table, and a dresser and mirror. As well as his own bathroom, with salmon colored tiles and a wine red rug. It seemed that his parents told Mr. and Mrs. McClain his favorite color, and gave him the mostly red guest room. "Uhm... Miss Honerva?" The middle aged woman, who was standing by the door, turned to face him, a look of concern on her face. "Yes, sir Keith? Is there anything wrong?" He shook his head, and simply sat down on the bed. "Does every guest room have a different color code?" Miss Honerva smiled, and simply nodded. "Lord Alfor of Altea, had special five rooms in all different colors. Nobody knows why, but all we know is that those five rooms have five different color patterns; Black, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow. Some believe that those rooms were made for high ranking officials, or some other important guests or people. They called them the Paladins' quarters." Keith nodded, before looking around the room. "Would you like to eat?" Before he could refuse, his stomach beat him to it. Miss Honerva chuckled, before leading him to the dining room. There, different dishes have already been  placed on the table. The sight and smell, made Keith's stomach grumble and his mouth salivate. "Please, sir Keith. Feel free to eat till your heart's content, I will just fetch Sir Lance." With that, Honerva left.

* * *

 

Not a while later, she returned. This time with Lance. She was dragging him by the ear, towards the dining table. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Miss Honerva continued to pull Lance by the ear, till he was seated. "Now, I hope you two a have civilized meal with no punches or insults to be thrown." The way she said it was sickeningly sweet, it made Keith both fear and respect her. Lance briefly met eyes with him, before looking back at his plate, cheeks flushed. Keith ate quietly, giving cautious glances at Lance as he did. Why did his cheeks turn red? Was it because he was embarrassed? Maybe he was embarrassed because Keith managed to give him a black eye and a busted lip, not too long ago. He felt pride at that thought, a smirk forming on his lips. 

"Aren't you two going to greet each other?" Miss Honerva's voice cut through the pleasant silence, which annoyed Keith. "Sir Lance?" She turned to look at Lance, who had his head bowed down. She cleared her throat, before he slowly looked up to face him. "Hi... Keith..." She then turned to Keith, giving him the same look. "Hello, Lance." Miss Honerva sighed, mumbling something under her breath.

After lunch, Lance disappeared again, and Keith decided to explore the mansion. Miss Honerva was helping the maids in the kitchen, and told him that he's free to whatever he feels like doing. While exploring, Keith found a grand piano in the middle of a mini library. Looking around, and seeing no one. Keith decided to play a piece, so that he could practice. He wants to become a musician one day, not a pianist specifically, but a musician. He removed the lid, and took a deep breath, before playing. Halfway through the song, Keith was lost. Lost in the music. Lost in the notes. It was too beautiful, nothing but him and the piano, and the music they were creating together mattered. He was into deep, that he was unable to notice the presence of another in the room. 

 

Lance was in the gardens as usual, sketching and stuff. When he heard the sound of his grandfather's piano, coming from the library. Curious, he went to investigate. There he saw his rival, who had his eyes closed yet was able to hit every key with practiced perfection. He heard this song before, it felt too familiar. The sound of the piano was so nostalgic, and it made him miss his  _abuelo_ , he remembered how he and his grandmother would sing while his grandfather would play. Before Lance noticed, Keith had stopped playing and he had tears running down his cheeks. Keith couldn't stop staring, he didn't know what to do. "Uhh... Lance?" This caught the other's attention, causing him to wipe his tears on his sleeve. The brunette scowled at him, fresh tear tracks on his cheeks. "What are you doing here?" He asked, annoyance evident in his voice. Keith rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I was playing the piano, genius." This caused Lance to get even more annoyed, which resulted in another argument.

When both of them cooled off, Lance decided to give Keith a tour of the house. Halfway through Lance babbling about how he lost his first tooth by scaring his old nanny, which resulted in him getting slapped heard, Keith spoke. "Hey, Lance. Do you know anything about that painting of a girl in a yellow dress?" Lance stopped for a moment to think, there were lots of paintings in the house. But then again, only one of which was bound to catch every guest's eye. "You mean, the painting of Lady Allura?" Keith nodded, hoping that Lance knows something. "Well yeah, but not the whole story. All I know was that she committed suicide with her lover, ala Romeo and Juliet style. But besides that, I was told nothing else." They continued walking through the mansion, but this time it was still in silence. "What was her lover's name?" Keith asked once more, breaking the comfortable silence between them. Lance stopped, trying to remember. "I think it was Shawn or something. I remember the name, having a Sh at the start." Keith was about to say something, when Miss Honerva came in. "Oh, there you two are. Finally getting along, are we?" The two boys exchanged looks, before showing Honerva the bruises they got. Lance had a fairly large bruise on his stomach, so he was clearly punched. Keith had one on his side, and a bruised shoulder. "How do you two keep getting physical?!" She exclaimed, ushering them to Lance's bedroom, since it was closer. 

* * *

 

Keith wasn't surprised to see that Lance got the other special bedroom, but his was the Blue one. It was a mess. There was dirty laundry everywhere, and the floor couldn't be seen due to the number of papers strewn all over. Plus, there were lots of drawings taped on the wall. His desk had a lot of sketch books, coloring materials, and pencils. "So is this where you keep your animals?" Keith asked Lance, who flipped a bird at him. "Hey, stop it. I'll just go down to get the first aid kit, and sir Keith," the sound of his name caught his attention. "Please don't move your arm too much," with that Miss Honerva was gone again. Keith looked around the room, before sitting in the bed. He took one the papers, and looked at the drawing of a lion. "Wow, you're actually really good at drawing." He turned to meet Lance's eyes, who in turn looked away, face flushed once again. "Yeah, thanks. You're good at playing the piano too," he said, still refusing to at Keith. "Sooooo, is that the only instrument you can play? Or?..." Keith removed his shoes, and put them up on the bed. While Lance, who sitting on the other side, stared at him. "I can play the guitar too, as well as the violin." The brunette whistled, before looking at the ceiling. "Cool..." There was a moment of silence between them, before Miss Homerva came in with the first aid kit. She fixed them both up, and decided that it was time for dinner. But it seems the boys have actually found something to agree on. 

"I don't wanna eat," both boys said in unison. Miss Honerva stopped, before blinking at them. "Did you two plan this or something?" The two boys looked at each other, eyes wide. "Stop copying me!" They screamed at each other, in unison once again. Miss Honerva sighed, rubbing her temples. That was when's Keith got an idea. "Miss Honerva, could you tell me more about Allura and her forbidden romance?" This seemed to get Lance interested, who immediately stopped using his phone to look at them. Miss Honerva sighed, but gave in. "Fine, but consider this a bedtime story then." The two boys shrugged, and said nothing.

"Lady Allura was a stubborn girl, who refused to get married to someone she doesn't even love. During this time, the Altea clan was in disagreements with the Galra clan, another influential family. The Galra clan's successor, was Lord Shiro. One night, while hunting, Lord Shiro found Lady Allura in the forest. She was lost, and was fortunate enough to be found by Shiro. Here, without any idea of their identities, Allura told Shiro of her woes. She overheard her father, that he wanted her to be married off to a man that Allura didn't even know, and that they would be married within three weeks. So, Allura ran away. Shiro showed sympathy for her, and told her of his problems. He told her of how his father keeps on pressuring him into taking over their business in trade, when all he wanted was to join the forces and fight for their land. They agreed to meet with each other, in that place every evening, just so they have a companion to confide in. They didn't know what their identities were, till the seventh evening. But despite this information, they still continued with their friendship—" Honerva stopped talking, when she saw that both Keith and Lance had fallen asleep already. With Keith's head on Lance's chest, and Lance's arm wrapped around Keith's thinner body. She simply shook her head, before standing from her chair and turning off the lights. "Goodnight," she whispered to deaf ears, before closing the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't forget to leave kudos and comments, I'm always happy to hear from you guys!


	5. Love Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Long before their time, two families pay the price.  
> For a pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;  
> Spun by Nona; measured by Decima.  
> Only to be cut by the blades of Morta.

 

* * *

_Many years ago..._

 

Allura Altea, has always been different from the other ladies her age. While most girls her age are either married or are expecting children, she's at her father's side overlooking the trading industry in their town. The most beautiful girl in town she may be, but her attitude is certainly different from a proper girl. She's stubborn and outspoken, not the ideal attitude of a woman her time. Women are expected to be soft-spoken, bashful, and modest. They are expected to follow every order given to them by their husbands. They are expected to be seen in the kitchen cooking meals for their families, or by the riverside doing the laundry. Not in the library reading books about business and warfare, rather than sewing and cooking. A man's office isn't a place a woman should be. They are only allowed to enter, if they are to bring meals or news. Not to help them and give suggestions. Women of her times, are treated more like objects than people. Prizes that should be won. A woman's worth is measured by the power held by their male relations, or by their beauty. Something that Allura had always been against. 

* * *

 

So when she overheard her father, talking about arranging her marriage to a man she isn't familiar with, she felt very betrayed. Her father, Lord Alfor, knew how she despised arranged marriages. He made her a promise that she's allowed to marry anyone she wishes, but now this. How could he? 

"Coran, Allura is getting older. And yet, she's still unmarried. I know that I told her, that she's free to marry whomever she chooses. But of all the men, who've come to our home to court her, she has yet to choose." Allura was standing by the door, tears running down her cheeks at what she's hearing. "Brother, she's still young and fruitful. You must give her time. Because for now, she wants to take care of you, and your business. Especially, since the damned Galra have been trying to upstage us." Her Uncle Coran always had it in for her, he's one of the few people she knows she can truly trust. She heard her father sigh, before frustratedly placing down the glass. "She's getting older, Coran. The younger a bride, the better. I'm just simply afraid, that when she gets to a certain age, she'll no longer be  desirable to the eyes of men." Allura took a deep breath in, unable to listen anymore. She knocked on her father's slightly ajar door, but could not wait for his permission to enter. The door slammed open, as the young woman with red eyes from crying entered. "Allura!" Both men gasped in shock, as Coran went to her side almost immediately. "So I  _am_ just like every other girl, you are like every other man,  _Father_." It pained Allura, as those words left her mouth and she saw her beloved father's expression. "Allura, please. You don't understa—" She cut him off, shaking off her uncle's arms. "No,  _you_ don't understand. You don't know what it's like to be woman, Father!" By this time, Allura was shaking.  "Father, I understand you're concerned for me. But please, trust me and my decision. There's a reason, why I asked you to allow me to marry the man I love. Because I know, that the man I love, will love me no matter what. No matter what age, or whether or not I'm able to have children."

Lord Alfor stayed quiet, his gaze never leaving Allura. He moved from his place, to where his daughter was. "Allura, my beloved child. I trust you, and your decision. And I'll tell you to believe me, when I say; I've been trying all that I can, to have every young woman in the land be treated, the way we treat the ladies in our family. But it's hard to change a person's opinion, my love." Allura looked down, tears never stopping. Coran simply stood in the sidelines, watching the exchange between father and daughter. Those two have always been so close, so much so, that Alfor wants Allura to follow in his footsteps. He wants her, to inherit and continue all that he started. Allura inherited his stubbornness, among many other things. One can say, that she's had a greater impact in her father's life than she has known. Before her birth, Alfor shared the same mindset as the other men in their time. That women were playthings, useful only for carrying children and raising them. But when she came into the world, he changed. 

Allura looked up once more, before sniffing and wiping her eyes. "I believe that you will be continuing my betrothal then." Lord Alfor nodded, before placing a hand on her cheek. But Allura winced, like a child's response to touching a hot keetle. It hurt Lord Alfor, he didn't want to hurt his daughter, but this is for her own good. "You'll be marrying the son of Lady Ryner," said Coran. Allura nodded, before leaving the room. 

* * *

The air was very cold, almost ice cold tonight. The winds whistled, creating an almost perfect symphony with the rustling of the trees. But then, a sound. A twig breaking, followed by a distinct snort. His prey, all ready to be caught. He had been waiting for this moment. He stayed calm, drawing back, eye on his target. Before...

_Squeal!_

Shiro went out of his hiding place, to see the lifeless body of his catch. A boar. With an arrow sticking out of head, well, eye socket to be more specific. He pulled out the arrow, along with the creature's eye. He began to prepare the body for consumption. Removing the hairs using a blade. He removed the other parts such as, the intestines, kidneys, liver, and other internal organs, and placed them in a bowl he had taken with him. After all the preparations, he stuffed the boar with different types of spices and flavourings. He sewed the underside, stuck the creature on a stick, before placing it over the fire. He watched as the underside slowly turned a golden brown, before turning it. He continued this process of turning the boar, till it became golden brown all over. Seeing that it's done, he took and washed a big leaf, before placing the meat on top of it. He cut a piece of meat, and began to eat quietly. Then suddenly, a twig broke. Having done this time and time again, Shiro prepared his weapon. Aiming it towards the source of the sound, knowing that the smell of food attracts many creatures. "Who's there?! Show yourself!" Rather than hearing a growl, like he usually would, a cloaked figure came out. One arm held high in surrender, while the other hand guided a horse beside them. "Who are you?" Shiro asked once more, never once lowering his weapon. This person could be dangerous, and letting his guard down could put him at risk. The figure removed their hood, revealing a girl. A very beautiful girl, for this matter. With long white hair, cascading down her lower back. She wore servant's clothing, while Shiro could see that her pale blue eyes were bloodshot. "I'm no harm, please. I simply got lost in the forest. Please, put your weapon down." Seeing that she has no weapon on her, the young man complied. "What is a young lady like you, doing in the forest in the middle of the night?" Being reminded of the reason of her presence in that place, made Allura tear up. She bit her lower lip, her head bowed sadly. Shiro was quick to react, leading her to the log he was sitting on, but not before making sure her horse wouldn't run off. "Here, please. Take a seat. Forgive me, for frightening you." Once seated, Allura couldn't contain herself any longer. She began to sob, face buried in her hands, as hot tears ran down her face. Shiro placed his arm around her, pulling her close, allowing her to cry into his chest. When she finally stopped, Allura pulled away, embarrassment obvious on her cheeks. "I'm sorry, for ruining your shirt. Mister?..." Shiro held out his hand, before shaking Allura's. "Shiro. Nice to meet you," he said with a smile. Allura noticed how infectious it was, and found herself smiling as well. "I'm Allura, by the way." A moment of silence passed them, before Shiro realized. He grabbed an extra plate from his things, and sliced her some meat. "Here, I figured you'd be hungry if you got lost in the forest." Allura muttered a thank you, before digging in. "If it's not inappropriate, may I know why you would run off into the forest?" Allura stopped eating, mentally debating whether or not to tell her problems to a stranger. "Ummm... My father was forcing me to marry someone, I haven't met." Shiro stared at her, before nodding understandingly. Allura was surprised, when he didn't try to talk her back into getting married, like how other men like her Uncle or Father would. "If I may; why are you in the middle of the forest? You're dressed like a well to do young man." It was Shiro's turn to stop eating and debate whether or not to tell her the truth, but seeing as how she was willing to tell him her reason, it only seemed fair to tell her his. "It's one the places I can train. I want to join the Forces, but my father wants me to follow in his footsteps." Allura wanted to ask what Shiro's father's work was, but decided against it. "The Forces? I have a cousin, that's a soldier. He said that the training was rather difficult, and it took him years before he could be considered an official soldier." Allura said, trying to start a conversation, to lighten the mood a bit. "Well, to be honest. I was almost an official too, before my father forced me to stop." Allura bit her lower lip, feeling rather sad for this stranger. "Oh, I'm so sorry." Shiro chuckled bitterly, before shifting his gaze from the fire, towards Allura. "It's alright, you have no fault in that. To be honest,  _I_ should be the one to say sorry. You have no choice but to be in your situation, while I can always defy my father and continue my training. It seems that every woman in society, has no control on the destinies given to them." Allura was rather surprised at what Shiro said. It was unusual for a man to say such things, about feeling sorry for women having no choice but to follow the orders of men. "It's an unpopular opinion, but I see no reason to view women as below men. I mean, what's a King without a Queen to give him an heir?" Allura felt the sides of her mouth lift up, hearing the sincerity in his voice. 

They spent the rest of the night talking and eating, and before they realized it. It was already dawn. "Well, I guess we should go now." Shiro stated, cleaning up. Allura helped him, but felt a small tug at her chest, when he announced that it was time for them to leave. Then, she found herself being unable to stop the words from coming from her mouth. "Shiro, could we meet again? Here, at this same spot? Tomorrow evening?" Contemplating for a while, Shiro nodded. "That sounds nice, but you're gonna have to bring bread this time." They laughed heartily, before making their way to their respective horses. "Um, Shiro? How do I get out from here?" Allura asked, mounting her horse, Azure. "Well, there's a nearby town from here, that's where I'm from. How about I'll escort you there, where you can ask directions." Shiro suggested, mounting his own horse, Black. Allura nodded, before the pair made their way towards the town. Their trip was in silence, before Allura began to get familiar with the route. By the east, she could already see the roof of their estate. "Shiro, I think I can make it from here. Thank you, and it was nice meeting you." Smiling, the young man nodded. "Sure, take care and it was nice meeting you as well." They went on their separate ways, before Shiro stopped. "Allura!" The young lady looked back, staring at Shiro's direction. "Parting is such sweet sorrow!" Laughing, Allura waved before answering, too familiar with the line. "That I shall say good night till it be morrow!" The two have one last laugh, before continuing their way. 

A night when sorrows were shared, ended in a morning of laughs.

* * *

Their little meetings continued. Spending time by the fire, eating and exchanging stories. They were content, not knowing the truth about their identities. They grew to be each other's closest friends, telling their pains and problems to each other. Till one night...

 

"Shiro, have you heard of the Altea family?" The young man stopped eating, swallowing the food, before looking at Allura. "Yes, why do you ask?" Fidgeting, she nibbled on her lower lip before speaking. "They're having a party tomorrow night, and I'll be attending. Everyone, who doesn't have the name Galra, is invited. Would you like to come?" Allura asked, nervously. Shiro stayed frozen for a while, not speaking but only staring at the fire. 

_Anyone who doesn't have the name Galra? Could it be...?_

"Allura, may I ask; why are you inviting me?" Shiro questioned, before taking a bite from his bread. In all honesty, for these past few nights, Allura was beginning to develop some feelings for Shiro. And it didn't help, that her father told her that she'd be getting married within three weeks. "Shiro, I don't wish to ruin our friendship. But I need to get something off my chest," she stood up before brushing off her skirt. Etiquette has it, that when a lady stands, the men present must stand too. So, Shiro stood up as well. "Shiro, these past few nights. Have been the most fun I've had, in my whole life. I know that we agreed, that we must have secrets of our own, but this can no longer be a secret." This was making Shiro nervous, never had their conversations been this serious before. Allura took his hands into her own, marveling at how bigger and more calloused they were compared to her own. "Shiro, you are aware that my father wants me to get married to that man in three weeks. So, I'll need to tell you this before anything else happens." Taking a deep breath, Allura gripped his hands. "Shiro, I'm in love with you." The young man's eyes widened, staring into her eyes, and seeing nothing but honesty. Biting his lower lip, he tucked her hair behind her ear. A very bold move for him. Allura closed her eyes, waiting for the words of rejection, that she's said too many times. But nothing. Opening her eyes, she looked up at Shiro. Who was smiling at her, his eyes shining. The flames danced beside them, as they slowly leaned in. Before their lips pressed together, soft and chaste. When they pulled away, Shiro smiled her. "I love you too, Allura." The young woman felt her cheeks heat up, before their lips met once again. This time, a little more passionate and bold than the other. Shiro had his hands on her waist, careful not too squeeze and hurt her. Allura had her hand caressing her cheek, with the other on his shoulder. Azure and Black whined, causing the two to pull away and chuckle softly. Their faces were merely inches apart, their lips barely brushing against each other. "You kiss by the book," said Allura softly. Shiro chuckled, as both of them let the rest of the world melt away. They stayed like that, before reality came crashing down.

Allura was getting married in three weeks. And here she was, with Shiro's arms wrapped around her. "Allura, I have something to tell you as well." Shiro felt his heart beat faster, he couldn't hurt her. If his suspicions were in fact true, and this would not change how they view each other. He has a plan. If it does affect their relationship, then...                     He didn't know. Allura stared at him, fiddling with her fingers. Taking a deep breath, Shiro sat her down before taking his own seat. "Do you love me, Allura?" Furrowing her eyebrows, Allura nodded. "Yes, I do. I just told you, Shiro." Shaking his head, the archer clenched and unclenched his fist. "Do you love me for me, Allura? Or do you just love the sense of freedom I give you?" Confused, Allura took Shiro's hand into her own. "Shiro, I love  _you_. I've never felt like this before—I've never felt so complete, only around you. I've never felt so... so  _right_." Taking a deep breath, and pressing kisses on her knuckles. "Allura, if we're gonna be together. We're gonna have to be honest, and we have to trust each other." Allura nodded, feeling Shiro's grip tighten, but not painfully. "Allura, I love you. With all my heart, and I'll give up anything for you." Shiro went on his knees, placing his hands on her knees. "Even my name, and my heritage." Allura's eyes widened, finally realizing why Shiro was acting like this. "You're..." Gulping, Shiro looked up at her. Her expression had shock written all over it. "I'm L-Lord Takashi Shirogane of the G-galra family," he said shakily. He closed his eyes, waiting to slapped or pushed away. Allura took his hands, and pressed them against her soft lips. This action caused Shiro's eyes to shoot open, looking her in surprise. She had a teary smile on her face, but she didn't look sad at all. "If that's the case, then..." She pulled him up, before looking into his eyes. "Then, I'm Allura of the Altea family." The two gave a soft chuckle, before embracing each other. Shiro went on his knee, before kissing her hand. "I, Takashi Shirogane of the Galra family, denounce my heritage and my defy my family name. And I will, forever on this night, be known as Shirogane." Allura chuckled at this, she knew this is considered official by law. But she knows, that it is by the Gods and the spirits of the forest. 

When Shiro stood up, he felt all the weight lift off his shoulders. Everything felt so new, so light. The air was cool, and the moon was full. The stars winked in the inky black sky, as the flames burned a dance of heat. He never felt so happy, he felt like screaming in joy. He just laughed, eyes twinkling with glee. He lifted Allura, before spinning her around. His lover squealed in happiness, as she felt the butterflies in her stomach fluttering around. When he placed her down, she pressed their foreheads together. Before going down on knees, and saying. "I, Allura of the Altea family, denounce my heritage and defy my family name. And I will, forever on this night, be known as Allura." Shiro's eyes widened, as Allura stood up. Her body lost all its tension, and her eyes mirrored the same glee he had earlier. Smiling, Allura pressed a kiss against his lips. When they pulled away, Shiro removed his necklace, with a lion's head pendant on it, and gave it to Allura. "I, Takashi Shirogane, pledge never ending love for Allura. And vow to take care of her, in sickness and in health. For better or for worst. Forever and always, and may death never do us part." He whispered into her ear, as he fixed the necklace on her. Allura turned to face him, and smiled. "I, Allura, pledge my never ending love for Shirogane. And vow to take care of him, in sickness and in health. For better or for worst. Forever and always, and may death never do us part." She took of her necklace, a gift from her mother before she passed, and gave it to him. It had a V on it, although she never asked why. "What does the V stand for?" Shiro asked, putting on the necklace. "I never knew, but it should have a meaning. That only we could know," she suggested. Shiro hummed, thinking while fiddling with the pendant. "How about Venus?" Allura said, a small smile decorating her face. Shiro quirked a brow, pressing a kiss on her cheek. "Why Venus?" Allura placed her head on his shoulder, before looking up at the starry night. "Because I have a feeling, she definitely has a role in our love story." Shiro laughed softly, before pressing a kiss on her hair. "Yes, yes she does. And I thank her, because I met the soul that can complete me." Allura turned to face him, before they kissed once more. When they pulled away, Allura sighed sadly. "What' she wrong, Love?" Shiro asked, seeing the sadness in her eyes. "Shiro, I'm getting married in three weeks. And we just found each other—I can't... I can't lose you, Shiro..." She whispered the last part, before looking at him with tears in her eyes. Shiro felt the tears beginning to form, but shook them away. "I have a plan..." Allura looked at him questioningly, as Shiro placed a hand on her cheek.

"We're gonna escape."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't forget to leave kudos and comments, I'm always happy to hear from you guys!


	6. Somethings Just Can't be Changed

 

 

* * *

_Present time..._

Charles McClain would be lying if he said that he wanted his son to marry someone he barely knows, much less his so-called rival. He knows what it's like to be forced into a relationship with someone he has no interest in, he is a McClain after all. Everyone in their family is aware of the reason behind every engagement or wedding, that has been planned. And everyone is also aware of the consequences, yet the tradition continues. Why? Because— "Papa?" Charles was brought back to reality, by the sound of his office door opening and a soft voice. "Veronica? What's wrong?" His eldest and only daughter, was a carbon copy of her mother, just like her brother. She's about 16 years old, and a fine young lady. "Papa, can I talk to you?" Charles nodded, pushing his paperwork aside before gesturing his daughter to sit on one of the chairs. Veronica sat down with a sigh, and took her father's hand into her own. "What's wrong, Ronnie?" Charles let go of her hand, to walk over to her side. He caressed her cheek, looking into her brown eyes. "Papa, is Lance getting married because I wanted out of the agreement years ago? I don't want him to languish in a loveless marriage, just because his sister was selfish." Charles shook his head, taking a seat on the chair opposite of hers. "No, of course not, love." Veronica had always felt guilty for having her brother carry the burden, that should've been hers. She's had its weight on her shoulders, for years before Lance came. She loves her little brother, but she regrets the fact that her selfishness got the better of her. "Veronica, look. Lance is marrying Keith, because they are closer in age. Luis is far too young, and both you and Marco are slightly older than Keith. It's not your fault, it's just fate playing with us." The eldest grimaced, fate was playing with them. What if fate were to play with Lance on his wedding day, and cause his demise. It was no secret, that a lot of their family members die because of the 'curse' placed on them by the gods long ago. And she couldn't bear to see her brother laying in a white box being lowered six feet into the ground, she couldn't even imagine it without tearing up. "What if I wanted to marry Keith! Will there still be time for me to take Lance's place, papa?" Charles stared sadly at his daughter, who was shaking and had her eyes open wide. "Veronica... If I were to change the plans now, how do you think the Koganes will feel? There will be paperwork to fix, and many more." The eldest McClain child sighed, running her hands through her hair before slouching. "I'm sorry, Veronica. That's just the way things are..." Veronica just stood up, and exited the room. Charles watched as the door closed, he hated seeing his kids like that. Feeling helpless and self-blaming. No parent wants to see that in their children, right? Sighing, he went back to sit on his own chair. He fumbled with the necklace around his neck, a gift from his father, before taking the thing off to get the pendant. To a stranger, it was just a stone. But there was something more to the stone. He knocked it twice on the desk, before it broke into two. Inside was a small key and piece of paper with a name on it, _Shiro_. Charles took the journal, and unlocked it using the key. He was careful in flipping the pages, till he got to the last page. The last page and very different handwriting, when compared to the others. He read the passage over and over again, before sighing.

_I'm sorry, Veronica. It has to be Lance...._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the short chapter, I had writer's block for a few weeks regarding this story. 
> 
> If you've seen or have watched the 80's Voltron, or have just done some research. You would've found out, that in the 80's version, Lance's full name is "Lance Charles McClain." 
> 
> So I made Mr. McClain's first name Charles. There might be more implreferences to the 80's version in the future.
> 
> Please don't forget to leave kudos and comments, I'm always happy to hear from you guys!


	7. My Escape

* * *

Everyone in the Galra household, was quick to notice something  _different_ about the illegitimate son of Zarkon and adopted child of Ulaz. But nobody decided to question it, nobody except Lotor. Everyone was well aware of the rivalry of the two, especially since Zarkon favors his bastard over his legitimate son. But that was when they were younger, because currently, Lotor is actually  _thankful_ that Shiro would be the one to inherit the business. As a child, Lotor would wonder why his half-brother got everything that was once owned by his father. His horse, his sword, and even his business—of course that one's not yet Shiro's. But after seeing that Shiro was unable to fulfill his dreams, the white haired boy came to appreciate the lack of burden on his shoulders. And the two stopped their rivalry, and became each other's most trusted friend. So Lotor will always be concerned, whenever it involves Shiro.

"Brother! It's good to see you back! How was the hunt?" Lotor made his way towards Shiro, who didn't seem to catch a word he just said. The shorter male quirked a brow, before going into full 'annoying slightly-younger brother mode'. He began to poke at Shiro's cheek, play with the white streak of his hair, waving his hand in front of the hunter. Lotor smirked, seeing a vein pop from his brother's head. Shiro groaned, and grabbed his half brother's wrist. "It was fine, Lotor." He answered the question exasperatedly, before rubbing his face. The son of Zarkon smiled victoriously, but still had a mission to do. "Then tell me, brother. What happened last night, that you've been acting weird?" This caused Shiro's nonexistent-cat ears to perk, immediately looking at Lotor's direction. Should he tell him? He is his brother, and he could trust Lotor, right? "Uhhh... I met a young lady..." That wasn't a lie actually, that is true. Because he did meet a lady, although last night wasn't the first time they met. This information made Lotor grin, something akin to a cat that's gotten into the cream. "Oh? A lady? You must tell me all about her then, Shiro." The taller young man thought for a while, watching as Lotor's expression went from 'tell me now' to 'I'm gonna irritate you with this information'. But fortunately, before Shiro could say something. Zarkon called for their presence, in his office. Quietly thanking the gods, Shiro looked at Lotor, who had a disappointed look on his face. Well, it was more of a childish pout to be honest. Shiro chuckled softly, before motioning for his brother to come along. Groaning, Lotor stood from his seat and followed his brother to their father's office.

 

"I've heard, that the Altea family will be holding a party later tonight." Lord Zarkon was a pretty intimidating man. He has a big, beefy body. It was obvious that in his youth, he once had a body, similar to a soldier's. His face had a permanent scowl, with glaring eyes. His voice was so commanding and terrifying, that it actually made Shiro wonder how he and Lotor didn't get scared of him as children. Who was he kidding? They both used to run for cover, whenever they see their father's carriage nearing their house. Especially, whenever they knew that they would be in trouble. They'd both run into the forest, and wait till their father takes his afternoon nap, before returning home. "And what do you want us to do about it?" Lotor asked, letting a little bit of sarcasm to drip in his voice. Shiro eyed him from the side, warning him about disrespecting their father with sarcasm. But the younger son, simply shrugged. "I want you two, to go to that party. You two will find out more of this plan Alfor has." Shiro's eyes widened, as did Lotor's. On the outside, Shiro looked at Zarkon incredulously. While in the inside, Shiro was dancing in glee. He promised Allura that he'd be there. Their plan of escape was flawless. "But Father! We will be recognized at that party! One more quarrel between our two households, and we will be punished by the orders of the Prince!" Lotor argued, which was ignored by Zarkon, as per usual. Shiro was too involved with his own thoughts, that he tuned out what Zarkon was telling him. "Shiro! Are you listening?" The young former successor looked up, and gave a confused look. Even Lotor was rather surprised by the fact, that Shiro, the most observant and obedient favored son, wasn't listening. "I'm sorry, father. I was just thinking of different ways, the two of us could disguised ourselves." Zarkon and Lotor looked him, blinking twice. "Shiro, if you were listening, you would've known that disguises are unnecessary. Because the party, is a masquerade." Shiro felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment, he had never felt more ashamed in front of his father till now. "Shiro, my boy. Are feeling alright?" Shiro nodded, seeing that concerned look in his father's eyes. "Father, Shiro has yet to rest. He was up all night studying, please allow me to escort him to his room." From the corner of his eye, the favored ex-son of Zarkon, could see the mischief twinkling in Lotor's eyes. "Alright, you two are dismissed. You should rest too Lotor, it will be a long night for you both." The two young men nodded, before exiting their father's study.

When they got to Shiro's room, Lotor immediately pushed him in. Once inside, he looked the door, and stared at Shiro with a predatory grin. "You may think you've escaped your interrogation, brother. But think again," he said smiling victoriously. Shiro rolled his eyes, before sitting down by the foot of his bed. "Fine then, ask away." Smiling, the white haired young man sat down on a chair. "Who is this girl?" Shiro lied on his bed, groaning before finally answering. "A servant girl of the Altea family, who's willing to quit her job and run off with me." That statement has a bit of truth in them, just change a few things, and you've got the truth. This answer seemed to satisfy Lotor, whose eyes widened. "A servant girl?! Have you gone mad?!" Shiro shushed him, looking around, before smacking him. "The walls have ears, brother." Lotor shook his head, but looked at his brother in disbelief. "You're with a servant?" Lotor said, this time in a hushed tone. Shiro nodded, before leaning closer to whisper into his brother's ear. "I'm planning to elope with her and run away, to a far away place." This was true, he and Allura have planned this last night. There's bound to be a lot of people in that party, including some important people her father needs to talk to. Which gives Allura time to grab her things, and go to the gardens. This is where Azure and Black, along with Shiro, will be waiting. They'll make their escape, to this cabin they found a few days back. It's so deep in the forest and so well-hidden, that no one will know where they are. They could live happily, away from their families and problems. Lotor's eyes widened, before he nodded in understanding. "I support your plans, brother. But will happen, when you disappear?" Shiro placed a hand on Lotor's shoulder, looking him in the eye. He was well-aware why his brother supports his plans. His mother, Haggar, was in love with Zarkon, and vice versa. But their grandfather, wanted him to marry and have a child with Shiro's mother. So, the young Zarkon devised a plan that will make all of them happy. He consummated his relationship with Shiro's mother, before they were married. Which led to her pregnancy with Shiro, while Zarkon and Haggar ended up marrying each other and having Lotor. Shiro's mother, considered an outcast due to the fact that she was the single mother of a bastard, met and married Ulaz, against all odds. Zarkon's father found out that Shiro was his first grandson and not Lotor, so decided to take the bastard in. Ulaz was killed in a battle, so pretty much Shiro would've been an orphan if it weren't for their grandfather. Shiro could also understand why Lotor seemed so affected by his decision to leave, seeing that he used 'disappear' rather than 'leave'. His mother, Haggar, disappeared one night when they were very young. And was never seen ever again, the reason for her disappearance was unknown. 

"Lotor, you are the legitimate child of Zarkon. The position of being his successor, is your birthright. So when I leave, I want you to follow in our father's footsteps." Lotor's jaw dropped, while Shiro smiled at him. "After this night, it is your chance to prove yourself to our father." Lotor smiled sadly at him, before wrapping him in a warm embrace. "I'll miss you, Shiro." They pulled away, before the older spoke. "Me too, Lotor."

The two brothers spent their last moments together, reminiscing and conversing. Till they fell asleep beside each other, like they did when they were children. When the two woke up, they only had three hours left to prepare. Lotor helped Shiro sneak a few necessary items, like food and water, for his and his lover's journey. After that, they both fixed up for the masquerade and made their way to the stables. As they mounted their horses, their father went to see them off. Zarkon stood by the gates, not speaking, only watching. The two brothers looked back, before bidding their father farewell.

"Do not fail me, sons."

* * *

 

They managed to snag some invitations from other guests, and got in fairly easy. The two brothers stood in awe, admiring the size of the  _'Castillo de Leones'_. "Wow... This thing is..." Lotor was—for the first time—at a lost for words. The whole mansion was lit up, and there were people everywhere. There were four lions by either side of the entrance, and a lion head above it. Shiro was the first one to take a step, fixing his mask so that he won't be recognized. The two have each other a look, before entering. This house appeared to get bigger, as they followed a group of guests through a series of hallways and rooms. They entered the fifth door, and were surprised to see the size of the room. There were tables set by the sides, with different kinds of foods on top. and most of the guests were dancing. For obvious reasons, the two decided, that their father's mission could wait. For now, they are simply guests and are enjoying themselves. 

Allura looked around, trying to spot black hair with a familiar white streak through the ocean of people. She had refused over seven men to dance, wanting to save her first dance for him. But seeing as there was no sign of him, Allura was almost tempted to finally say yes to a kind young man, when someone tapped on her shoulder. Turning around, she gave the stranger a smile. "Yes?" Allura caught sight of that familiar white streak, whose owner was wearing a Black mask with red gemstones on them. He wore the same matching, Black, Red, and White color theme. "Excuse me, miss. But, may i have this dance?" A playful grin appeared on Allura's lips, before taking the man's outstretched hand and began to dance. Leaning closer, she whispered. "Is everything ready?" A low chuckle was all the response she got, before she found herself being dipped gracefully. Grinning, Shiro twirled her. "Yes, you're royal highness. Everything is going smoothly," with that said, Allura felt relief wash over her. "That's good, now all we have to do is create a distraction." The two danced for a while, it was rather odd for Shiro, to not be able to see Allura's entire face. But her white and pink mask, made her eyes strike out. The former Altea realized, that she's been dancing with Shiro for too long, that it may get them caught. "Shiro, I have to go." As much as Shiro wished to keep her by his side, he knew better. They stopped dancing, and took one step back. They gave each other a thankful bow, before going on their separate ways. 

Shiro found Lotor talking to a young woman, scratch them, he was definitely flirting. "Lotor!" The son of Zarkon stopped kissing the girl's arm, and gave him an annoyed look. "What is it?" The woman curtisied and nodded at Shiro's presence, before flashing Lotor a smile and leaving. "I need your help, to make a distraction." Raising a brow, the future successor looked around. "You're lucky that I got a bit of information, so that we don't go ho—" Shiro saw the look in his brother's eyes, who remembered that he was going home alone tonight "I mean— _I_ don't go home empty handed." Sighing, the younger son of Zarkon gave his brother one last hug. "Goodbye and good luck, Shiro." Shiro pulled away, patting his Lotor on the bag before making his way towards the garden. Lotor fiddled with his mask, inching closer to the exit, before yelling out. "Is that a Galra family member by the door?!" There were a series of gasps among the crowds, and the guards were beginning to react. Lotor removed his mask, and made a run for it. Everyone, wanting to know who that brave family member is, began to make their way towards the door. Lord Alfor had scowl, before also making his way towards the door, among many others. Allura, seeing that everyone was distracted, began to walk towards the garden. Heart beating fast, hoping that no one will catch her. When she was finally outside, she made a run for it towards Shiro's direction. Her eyes softened, seeing her beloved calming down Black. "We must go, we don't have much time." Allura began mounting her horse, as did Shiro, before the former stopped to stare for a while. "What's wrong, Allura?" The former Altea family member sighed, before looking back at Shiro. "It's just, I didn't get to say my goodbyes..." Her eyes never leaving the place she once called home, as the young man behind her sighed. "I understand if you don't want to go through with this plan, it's not fair to force you to go through with this plan." Allura shook her head, before making her way towards the direction they're heading. "No, I want to be with you, Shiro. And if they ever realize I'm gone, then they should be able to see whose fault it was for me leaving." Shiro gave a small smile, before they began making their way deeper within the forest. The sound of footsteps behind them, made the young couple look at each other before making their horses bolt towards the cabin's direction. 

With Lotor, he began his ride home. Looking back at where he last saw Shiro and sighing. What was he going to tell his father?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't forget to leave kudos and comments, I'm always happy to hear from you guys!


	8. It All Started with the Bacon

* * *

Purple eyes fluttered open, feeling something warm under his head. Keith scanned the unfamiliar environment, noticing that almost everything was blue. He sat up, stretching out his arms, wincing at the slight pain before looking down at the bed. His eyes widened, realizing where his head had been on all the time. Lance was still fast asleep, drool escaping his slightly open lips and down to the pillow. His leg was draped over Keith's, and his arm was wrapped around his waist. The tan boy shifted and groaned, his body noticing the lack of heat, though he was still asleep. Keith was frozen in place, he couldn't believe that he fell asleep in this idiot's room. Suddenly, he found himself laying back down on the bed. "Warmth..." Lance muttered in his sleep, snuggling Keith closer to his chest. Unable to take the contact, the raven haired boy pushed Lance off the bed. "Ow!" A head of brown hair popped out from the other side of the bed, blue eyes glaring at him. "Why'd you do that for?" Standing from the bed and fixing himself up, Keith only scoffed at the question. "To prevent you from drooling on me, you big baby." Lance stood up, and threw a pillow at the raven. Keith angrily looked back, before taking his own pillow and hitting Lance.

When Miss Honerva entered the room, she was expecting two little angels fast asleep and cuddling. But instead, she saw two demons hitting each other with pillows and messy room and feathers around the bed. "Stupid long haired prick!" Screamed Lance, followed by a hit of a pillow that managed to make Keith fall off the bed. Growling, the latter began to mercilessly hit the brunet over and over again. "It's called a mullet, you air-headed dumbass!" Lance managed to stop Keith's hits, and began to counter it. "Who are you calling dumbass?!" They threw the pillows away, and began to wrestle around the room. Lance pulled at Keith's hair, while the latter kept throwing weak punches at the brunette. "Kids! Kids! Stop it!" Honerva yelled, trying to get Lance off of Keith. How is she going to survive a whole summer of doing this?

"You! See you're so dumb, that you don't even realize it yourself!" Lance's grip on Keith's hair never faltered, even as Miss Honerva kept trying to pull him off. Keith continued to hit at Lance's arms, in an attempt to get him to let go of his hair. The door slammed open, revealing a pissed off 14 year old boy. "What the fuck is going on in here?! It's 8 am!" Marco screamed, dark circles prominent under his eyes. "Sir Marco! Quick, please! Help me pull Sir Keith away!" Stomping angrily towards the two twelve year olds, the sleep deprived teen wrapped his arms under the squirming Keith's arms and pulled him away. "Let go of me!" The raven yelled, trying to pull away from the older male. Marco rolled his eyes, and dropped the twelve year old. Keith turned back to glare at the older male, before returning his glare back at Lance. Honerva sighed, before letting Lance go, watching his every movement cautiously.

The older woman sighed, before turning her gaze towards the second oldest McClain. "I'm sorry, Sir Marco, if we woke you up." The teen shook his head, before giving his brother a dark look. "Nah, it's fine Miss Honerva, it's not your fault..." He trailed off, his eyes never leaving Lance, who brushing himself off. "Just pray that you two didn't wake, Luis or Veronica. Anyway, I'm going back to bed." With that said, the eldest son exited the room. Honerva sighed, running her fingers through her hair. Which, earlier today, was in a neat bun. But now, it was all messed up and she had a few stray strands all over. "Really now? Just last night, before you two went to bed, you were fighting. Now, just after you'd just woken, you're fighting once again." Lance pouted and Keith scowled, giving each other angry side glances. "He started it!" Lance exclaimed, pointing at the raven. Keith scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Me? You're the one that hit me with a pillow!" Honerva rubbed the bridge of her nose, stepping in between the two boys. "Now, boys. Stop it, go ahead and clean yourselves up before eating." Lance glared at Keith one last time, before the latter exited the room. Honerva watched as their guest left, before looking back at Lance. "As for you young man, you'll be cleaning all this mess up." The brunet opened his mouth to protest, but saw the angry and tired look in his nanny's eyes and just sighed and nodded.

* * *

 

After taking a refreshing shower and cleaning up his room, Lance went down to the dinning room. To be honest, he felt a bit disappointed that he woke up too late to see the sunrise. He always almost never misses a sunrise, but now he did, thanks to that stupid Keith. "Good morning, Mama, Papa!" He greeted his parents happily, giving both of them a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning, mijo. You overslept today, you must've had a nice dream then." His papa said cheerily, temporarily shifting his gaze from the paper and towards his son. Lance pondered for a while, he didn't actually get that scary dream he's always had since he was a kid. "How about you, Keith? Was it comfortable in your room?" Keith almost spit his drink out, but quickly recovered before placing the glass down. "Uhm..." The raven haired boy gulped, careful not to meet Mrs. McClain's curious gaze. Honerva clears her throat, causing Mrs. McClain to look at her. "You see, ma'am. Sir Keith didn't sleep in his room last night, he accidentally fell asleep in Sir Lance's room." Mr. McClain raised a brow, taking a sip from his coffee, watching as a smile formed on his wife's face. "Really now? They can barely look at each other without a glare, but just last night they slept in the same bed." Luis, the youngest of all the McClains, began to make kissy faces. "Ooooohhhh, Lance has a boyfriend!" The six year old cooed, making a heart shape with his fingers. "Shut up..." Keith whispered, blushing at the thought. Lance stuck his tongue out in disgust, glaring at his brother. "Shut up! He isn't my boyfriend! He's my rival!" But this didn't stop Luis, who began to sing. "Lance and Keith sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" The whole table, excluding the two twelve year olds, began to giggle. "Stupid mullet head, stupid pretty violet eyes..." Lance whispered to himself, glancing over at Keith who was blushing as well. "Why's everyone laughing?" A new voice spoke, causing Keith to look at the source's direction. Taking a seat beside Mrs. McClain, was an almost identical yet younger version of the woman and an older girl version of Lance. Long dark brown hair with black roots tied up in a ponytail, the similar sun kissed skin. Pouty lips, that aren't as red as her mother and aren't as plump as her brother's. But instead Blue eyes like her brother, the teen has the same brown eyes as her mother. It left Keith wondering, how come Lance is the only one with Blue eyes? His parents have brown eyes, as well as all his siblings. "Lance has a boyfriend, and they slept in the same room together last night!" Luis exclaimed happily, causing Lance to groan and bury his face in his hands. "A boyfriend? Who's he?" Mrs. McClain gestured towards Keith, whose blush was also becoming less prominent. The girl smiled at him, holding out a hand. "I'm Veronica McClain, Lance's older sister. You haven't met me before, since I was at dance practice during the introductions." Keith nodded, shaking Veronica's hand. He could see her glance towards her father's direction, who simply shook his head. "Keith Kogane," he said with a nod himself. "Nice to meet you, Keith. I'm surprised you managed to spend a night with Lance, because he could snore and drool like there's no tomorrow." Keith chuckled, he was starting to like Veronica. "I actually woke up, seconds before his drool could hit me." The eldest McClain laughed out loud, causing Lance to glare at her. "Ronnie!" The twelve year old whined, pouting at the fact her sister's taking his rival's side. "What?" All Lance could do was pout, before munching his food happily, the situation forgotten. Veronica filled her plate with food, and was about to get the last piece of bacon, when another fork came to take it. The McClain daughter's eyes trailed up the fork, and had a dangerous glint in her eye as she stared Lance. The latter gave her the puppy dog eyes, letting those blue eyes widened and those plump lips pout. "Dwon't wou wove wour wittle bwotha, Wonica?" Veronica stared at Lance for a while, before rolling her eyes. "Give me the bacon, or I'm telling Pidge that you really do have a boyfriend." Lance's eyes widened, as a dramatic gasp escaped his lips. "You wouldn't dare!" A smirk formed on her lips, as she leaned forward. "Try me..." But just as Lance began to lift his fork, and Veronica was readying to place it on her plate. Marco entered the room, and quickly took the bacon and poured himself a glass of juice. Veronica's eyes widened, as did Lance's. The eldest son simply smirked, before gulping down his juice. He placed the glass down, greeting his parents before proceeding to the direction of the bathroom. As he walked, he whistled the tune of 'Shooting stars'. Lance and Veronica stared at his direction, before looking at each other and nodding.

Not a little later, after eating. Keith found himself in his room, with his guitar placed on his bed. "Your parents dropped it off last night at dinner, but you were asleep." Mrs. McClain explained, while Keith traced the stickers he and his mother used to decorate the instrument. A red lion head, and the symbol of his mom's old band, The Marmora. "Well, I better go now. I have a feeling that there will be a chase around the house, can't risk any more vases." When Mrs. McClain left, there was a crash and the sound of her groaning. Keith took his guitar and began to play, feeling comfort as his fingers pressed down on the strings.

_"Every long lost dream, lead me to where you are._   
_Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars._   
_Pointing me on my way into your loving arms._   
_This much I know is true;_   
_That God blessed the broken road,_   
_That led me straight to you..."_

It was his parents' favorite song, they'd sing it together to him as a lullaby. It was also the first song he learned how to play on the guitar, then on the piano. Suddenly, the door to his room slams open. Lance comes in, panting, before closing the door shut and locking it. "What are you doing here?" Keith asked, placing his guitar to the side. The brunette slid to the floor, sweat dripping from his forehead. "Hide me..." He gasps out, crawling towards the bed. Keith raised a brow, and just shrugged. From outside the room, he could hear shouting as well as the sound of something breaking. "What's happening?" Keith asked, after hearing Mrs. McClain's voice yelling something, possibly curses, in Spanish. Lance flinched, before relaxing. "Veronica and I, along with Luis, got back at Marco. Which led to a chase, and now Mama's blowing her head off." The way that Lance said it so casually, seemed as though it's something that happens often. "What did you two do exactly?" The Raven asked once again, his gaze switching between the door and the brunet. A wicked grin made its way on his face, while his eyes twinkled with mischief. "We poured oil all over the kitchen, and called him saying we need help because something happened to Luis. Marco comes running to the kitchen, and bam! He hits the wall!" Keith shook his head, what did his parents get him into?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that Keith was singing is God Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts.
> 
> I'm gonna be taking a break from writing for a while, due to some issues and a little bit of a writer's block.
> 
> I've got the next chapter's first part ready, but I'm not sure if it's good enough.
> 
> Please don't forget to leave kudos and comments, I'm always happy to hear from you guys!
> 
> Sorry.


	9. Summer Days

 

* * *

_6 summers later..._

 

Night was his favorite time of the day.   
  
The world seems to change. The moment the the sun sets, the stars appear. At day time, they're never really seen. Always being outshone by the sun, and it's blue skies and white clouds. But when the sun's gone, they rule the sky and captivate the people. Keith is like the stars, that's what his mom used to say. At school, he doesn't like the other kids. He prefers staying alone, keeping people at arms length. But when he comes home, his parents are there and give him all the love that they can. He's their star, and they're his moons. A source of light you can look up to, whose light isn't bright enough to cause harm to you. Yet, like the moon, there are times when they're not there. Both of his parents have work, leaving Keith alone for some time. During these times, there's always someone he can lean on. He has an uncle that takes care of him, his Uncle Thace. Uncle Thace was a former member of his Mom's band, and would usually be the first to volunteer to take care of him. His uncle was the one who taught him how to play the guitar, as well as the drums. He protects him from those kids at school, who bully him. Uncle Thace also taught him how to fight, to protect himself from those bullies. Keith loved Uncle Thace, he was like a second dad to him. Keith was the stars, his parents were the moon, and his Uncle Thace was the sky.

But when Keith was 11, everything changed. Uncle Thace was a police officer, and went undercover. But when his cover was blown, everything went downhill. He had been shot twice, once in the back and once in the stomach. The criminals were caught, but with a cost. It was too late for Thace. He died in the hospital. Keith was devastated. He couldn't believe that it was true. When his dad told him the news, he screamed and broke a couple of vases. It was impossible that uncle Thace was dead, Keith talked to him the night before. He made a promise to visit that day, so that they could hangout and have a jam session with his parents. At his funeral, Keith didn't cry. He just stared blankly as the coffin was lowered, his eyes were glossed over. He knew that Uncle Thace would want him to be strong for him. When they got home, no one spoke. His mom was sobbing against his dad's chest, while the latter had tears down his cheeks. Both adults weren't fazed by Keith's expression, knowing that the poor boy had bottled up the pain. He didn't cry at funeral, but he sobbed himself to sleep.  
When Thace died, along with him went Keith's childhood. The loss of his uncle left Keith empty, broken, and cold. For months, he couldn't do much as look at a guitar. He wanted to throw his guitar away, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He can't just let go of the happy memories he had with Thace, the man who helped shape him to be who he is. Years ago, he never thought he could have any sort of closure. But now, he think he can.

But there's another reason why he refers night over daytime...  
A little secret that only the darkened evening sky knows, a secret that it protects.

"Thank you all for coming here tonight! This is gonna our last song, and I wrote it for a special someone of mine, who's been gone." The crowd beneath him cheered on, as Keith moved away from the mic and towards the piano. With his guitar still on him, he adjusted the mic above the piano. The crowd quieted down a  
bit, listening as he began to play.

  
" _I can't stand to fly, I'm not that naïve._

 _I'm just out to find, a better part of me._ "

  
He looked back at his band mates, Green(Pidge) and Yellow(Hunk), before they began to play as well. The three of them made this band, a few years back. They never expected this much attention from the public, but they just all went with the flow.

" _I'm more than a bird, I'm more than a plane._

_I'm more than some, pretty face beside a train._

_And it's not easy to be me_..."

Keith kinda felt like a superhero living a double life, but in truth is just a kid that finds solace in music. He isn't sure how his parents would react to him, doing this. But as of the moment, what happens the day following this night. Is for Keith to worry about, not Red. For tonight, they're the Paladins of Voltron.

* * *

Ocean blue eyes twinkled in awe, as Lance admired the scene before him. The sky was clear, and the warm breeze smelled of salt water. The waves crashed down gently on the sand, before being pulled back. A few birds sounded above him, as the smell of barbecue filled the air. A smile began to form on his lips, as he basked in the sun's comforting heat. Ah, summer's in the air. No school, no homework. No Iverson nor Slav, it truly was the time of relaxation. "Look out, Lan—" Suddenly, the brunette caught a glimpse of a circular object flying towards him.

_Blam!_

Falling back in pain, Lance was thankful that he fell into a clear patch of sand. Hunk and Pidge cringed, before running towards their friend. "Lance! Are you okay?" Hunk asked, helping his friend sit up. Luis also made his way towards his brother's direction, before passing Lance to grab the ball. "Yeah..." Groaned the second youngest McClain, rubbing the aching spot on his forehead. Blinking a few times, Lance began to take notice of his surroundings. Hunk and Pidge were beside him, while his brother was walking away from the scene, looking more concerned for the ball than him. "Oi! Aren't you gonna say sorry? I lost a lot of brain cells here!" Lance exclaimed, before standing up and brushing a bit of sand off. Luis looked back, his eyes lacking any sort of empathy or interest. "It's not like it would make a difference," said the youngest McClain before running off to play with Hunk's little sister. Pidge snorted, before bursting out in laughter. Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes, while Lance stood there dumbfounded. Even Hunk was unable to contain his laughter, and also joined the petite girl. A few minutes passed, when the two finally calmed themselves down. "Lance, you're brother is so savage." Pidge panted out, placing a hand on his shoulder while clutching her stomach. "I'm so sorry for laughing, buddy. But it was too funny not to laugh!" Hunk explained, a grin still decorating his face. "But, seriously, you okay?" The petite girl asked, examining the bump on her friend's temple. Lance beamed at her, his blue eyes twinkling in joy. "I'm fine, guys. One little accident with a ball won't stop me from enjoying today!" The brunette exclaimed happily, as his two friends felt themselves beginning to smile back. Who wouldn't? Lance's smile is so infectious, that even if you don't smile, you'll either feel ticklish or have the urge to do so. "You're right, buddy! Now come on, I have to help dad with barbecue." 

"Lance! What happened to you?!" Mrs. McClain explained, rushing over to look at her son's head. Lance winced, as his mother's fingers gently brushed against the bump. He gave a bright smile, before taking her hand away. "It's fine, mama. It doesn't hurt anymore," he reassured. Mrs. McClain looked at him, head to toe, before shaking her head. "Seriously, mijo. Be more careful, okay?" Lance nodded, before taking the ice pack his mother handed him. The coolness of from the pack, was very refreshing against his forehead. The sun became a bit too harsh, so everyone had decided to take refuge in the shade of the picnic area. Pidge was slandering herself in sunscreen, while muttering curses about how the outdoors brought nothing but trouble. Hunk was tossing patties on the grill, brows furrowed in concentration. Him and Mr. Garrett were competing with each other, for the title of King of the Grill. Luis was conversing with Hana, the youngest of the Garrett family. While the other adults were spectators of the Garretts' Grill competition. Smiling at the scene before him, Lance decided that it was okay to go for a walk on the beach. Sure, as much as he'd love making fun of Pidge or Luis; cheering Hunk on and talking with the adults. But sometimes, a bit of alone time is needed. Suddenly, a black husky came running towards him. Smiling at the furry creature, Lance kneeled to greet it. "Hey, Yorak! How've ya been buddy?" The dog barked happily, nuzzling into the brunette's touches. Lance adored Yorak, his owner on the other hand...

"Yorak!"

Lance tsked, as his smile of adoration turned into an annoyed frown. From where he was standing, he could see two new figures greeting his parents in the picnic area. While another figure was walking towards his direction. Yorak barked happily, before circling around his owner, his red leash trailing behind his wagging tail. Keith kneeled down, scratching behind the canine's ear. Looking up, purple met blue for the first time this summer. "Hey..." The Raven whispered, looking back down to grab the other end of the leash. "Hey yourself," said Lance, watching Yorak bark and jump around happily. Despite knowing each other for so long, it seemed that both Keith and Lance have yet to get past the awkward stage of their relationship. Sure, they're comfortable arguing and butting heads. But anything beyond that? That's a near impossiblity. To be honest, Lance isn't actually mad at Keith or anything. In fact, the dude has his respect. But why he keeps provoking him, is definitely because Lance's a little jealous of the raven-Not that he'd ever admit it out loud-It seems that no matter what he does, regardless of how good he did it, Keith will always come on top. The brunette gets an A on his Algebra test, the Raven gets an A+. Lance wins the silver medal in track and field, Keith gets the gold. The tan boy's parents know about how insecure their son is, especially when compared to Keith. Lance always had self-esteem issues, since he comes from a rather large family. To him, the McClain siblings all excel at certain things. Veronica is the oldest, smartest, and most responsible. She's good at academics and dancing. Marco's the second oldest, a bit rebellious, adventurous, and brave. He excels at sports and music. Then there's the youngest, Luis. Curious, charismatic, and very precocious. He excels at arts and academics. Then, there's him. Lance isn't  as smart as Luis and Vero, nor is he as athletic as Marco. He's just, Lance. Nothing more, nothing less. But his parents wouldn't want him to change for the world.

"Hey guys! Do you wanna eat or not?" Lance was snapped out from his thoughts, and turned his gaze towards the picnic hut. Pidge had a her brow raised, and was tapping her foot impatiently. Everyone was already placing the food down, as the smell of barbecue wafts over him. Yorak seemed to also smell the food, and began to pull Keith towards the source. Lance laughed at the canine's antics, as the Raven was taken by surprise. The brunette followed the two to the picnic area, and felt an odd feeling of peace. Which was ironic, because who'd find peace in a small, noisy hut? For some reason, Lance did. Everything just felt normal about the chaos, like it was meant to be that way. Looking back at the beach, the tan boy swore he saw lady in a shawl watching him. "Lance! Are you gonna help or what?" The brunette turned back, and began to help place the plates on the table.

* * *

 

The rest of the day was spent swimming, surfing, singing songs, and joking around. It was around five o' clock, as everyone was sitting around the beach and beginning to start a campfire. When Mrs. Holt announced, that the teenagers would all be playing a game. They were given maps, backpacks, and GPS tracking bracelets. "Over there, is a jungle. We've placed a hidden treasure somewhere there, and your goal is to find it, bring it back , and stay safe. First person to bring it back to camp, wins." Lance's eyes brightened, as he gave Keith a competitive smile. The Raven rolled his eyes, but was eager to listen. "That map, tells you where to find clues that will help you find the treasure. But be careful, some of those clues may not actually be helpful." Mrs. Holt explained, as she handed them the necessary items. Hunk gulped, after peering into the bag. "Uh, do we really have to play? I mean, what if we, uh, I don't know, get lost and be eaten by some wild animal?" Mrs. Kogane placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, and gave him a kind smile. "Don't worry, Hunk. There are no wild animals in that jungle, it's completely safe. And you won't die," said Mrs. Kogane. "Yeah, and if you do get lost, we'll return you or your dead remains here." All the color drained from Hunk's face, as Pidge snickered beside him. Mrs. Garrett giggled softly, before standing up and leading the teens to the start of the jungle. "Okay, good luck kids!" Everyone bid each other goodbye, and began on their journey. "And just use the walkie talkies if you're on the verge of death or if you need anything!" Mrs. Garrett said, her usual cheerful smile never leaving her face. Hunk shook his head, before glancing over at Keith and Lance. He had a bad feeling about this...

Mrs. Garrett went back to the others, as they continued with their conversations. That was until they began to hear sounds, coming from the walkie talkies.

_"Seriously, Hunk? We've barely even separated yet!"_

_"Pidge, you know I tend to have an explosive digestive system during stressful situations."_

_"Hunk, buddy. If I die out here, please tell Nyma I love her."_

_"GAH!"_

_"Matt?! What's wrong?"_

_"I fell down a tree..."_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"What were you doing up a tree?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Keith was singing was Superman by Five for Fighting.
> 
> The walkie talkie conversation goes like this.
> 
> Pidge  
> Hunk  
> Lance  
> Matt  
> Pidge  
> Matt  
> Keith
> 
> Please don't forget to leave kudos and comments, I'm always happy to hear from you guys!


	10. Meeting Place

* * *

It was a beautiful evening.

The stars were shining, as the moonlight streamed through the curtains of the beach house they were staying at. The treasure hunt lasted only about out an hour, with Matt being the victor. After eating dinner, everyone decided that it was time for bed. After exchanging 'Goodnight's, everyone returned to their respective beach houses. After taking a shower, Lance's entire family, was out cold. Everyone, except him. Lance couldn't sleep. Well, more like didn't want to sleep. Sighing, the brunette looked back at his family's sleeping forms. Lance really wished all of his siblings could be here, but sadly, they had other plans. The entire place felt too quiet, except for his father's snores. Looking outside the window, Lance admired the sea. The waters were unbelievably calm, it reflected the stars and moonlight beautifully. Deciding that he had to get a better look, the brunette grabbed his art materials and quietly left the beach house.

He sat by the shore, far enough so the waters won't touch him. He began to draw on his sketchpad, occasionally looking up. As he searched for the right shade for the color of the sea, Lance's mind drifted to story he read before. About a fisherman whose pregnant wife's craving for fish was almost insatiable. The day came, when the fisherman was unable to catch any fish. His wife was very saddened, yet the fisherman was still determined to please his wife. Till one day, he caught a talking fish. Who then proceeded to tell him, that he was the King of Fish. The King told the fisherman, that he will make sure that his nets are never empty. In exchange, for the fisherman's child. The fisherman, who thought nothing about it, agreed. The following day, the fisherman managed to get a good catch. And this went on, and there never came a day when his nets were empty. Months passed, and his wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, whom they named Maria. Then, the King of Fish approached the fisherman, reminding him of his promise. The fisherman told his wife, who wept and pleaded with the King of Fish. The King only answered them with the words, "A promise is promise".  And so, the couple forbade their daughter from going near the sea. Years went on, and the daughter of the fisherman has never felt sea water on her skin. A day before Maria's sixteenth birthday, a large ship decorated with different colors and many passengers aboard came near their town. The girl, who has never seen a sea vehicle that big before, came out to see. As she walked to get a closer look, her toes got wet with sea water. Then, with a single drop of water. The King of Fish erased all her memories as a human, and turned her into a half fish and half human. The couple was distraught, but told no one of what happened. Legends say, that from time to time a beautiful woman with fins could be seen sitting on a large rock singing a beautiful tune.

Admiring his drawing, Lance decided to explore the rainforest. He had his phone with him if he ever gets lost, so that's okay. Everything was so quiet, other than the sounds of the waves gently  hugging the shore from afar. Suddenly, the sound of a twig breaking made Lance's heart begin to pound. He grabbed a rock off the ground, keeping his guard up. He looked around, searching for anything that could've caused that sound. Lance felt a breeze behind him, and threw his weapon where the creature should be. After seeing no one, he decided it was time to go home and get some rest. Because speaking from experience, the lack of sleep can cause hallucinations. And he might end up getting eyebags, and no one wants that. Heading back to the direction he came from, Lance felt the world around stop. When he felt something press against his throat and a heavy weight pin him down. 

* * *

 

Fear.

Was the one and only emotion he could feel. Fear kept him frozen. Fear rendered him unable to scream or call out for help. He gulps down, eyes screwed tight. He was breathing heavily through his nose, and he felt like he was on the verge of breaking down. Blindness heightened his other senses. He could an unfamiliar warmth above him. He could hear the waves from a distance. The disgusting taste of bile in his mouth. His mind began to race with different thoughts and questions, 'what if's and 'what not's. He thought about his parents, his siblings, his friends and all the things he has yet to do. When Lance finally gets his voice back, a sob tears through his lips.

"Lance?"

Keith's eyes widened, as he finally gets a better look at the figure under him. He could make out bronze skin, short brown hair. He removes the blade against the boy's throat, and gets off of him. After calling out the Cuban boy's name, a pair of bright blue eyes open to meet his gaze. "Keith?!" Lance exclaimed, immediately sitting up. "What the fuck, man?! Were you trying to kill me?!"  Keith sheathed his knife, before raising a brow. "Why do you care?." Blue eyes widen in disbelief, as a scoff leaves Lance's lips. "Well it's my life you almost took! And you didn't even apologize!" Lance says, eyeing the weapon at the raven's side. "Sorry," came Keith's response. The brunette's gaze softens, as he turns his head away. "You better be," whispered the Cuban. The raven rolls his eyes, as a moment of silence comes between their previous bickering. "What are you doing in this place anyway?" Keith asks, trying to break the tension. Lance turns towards and shrugs, before answering. "Just felt like exploring, you know? What about you?" Keith purses his lips, as he watched Lance brush himself him off. The brunette wasn't wearing his usual clothing, but instead wore board shorts and an slightly oversized black T shirt with-

Keith's eyes widened as he saw the logo of Lance's T shirt. It was his old band's logo, a letter V for Voltron. "Uh, same. Lance, you're a fan of Voltron?" The raven asked, as the Cuban looked down at his shirt. "Yeah! I really liked their songs! To bad they disbanded before I could watch them live, wonder why?" The answer to that question is fairly simple, priorities. Pidge and Hunk are honour students, and they just wanted to focus on their studies. But that was cool for Keith, he understood. And plus, he has a new band. The Sincline Ships. It's composed of him, Ezor, Acxa, Zethrid, and Narti. "But anyway, you know them Keith?" Lance asked, a twinkle of excitement  in his eyes. "Uh, yeah. I listen to a few of their songs," he answered. "What's your favorite song then?" The Cuban asked once more, more intent about Keith's answer. The raven thought for a while, what was his favorite song? "Well, while your thinking, I'll tell you mine.'' Keith raised a brow, the brunette really never stops talking. "It's a tie between Safe and Sound and Superman," the raven's eyes widen. But before he could say anything, Lance continued to talk. "Now, a lot of Voltron's fans prefer their fast paced and carefree songs. But I really love the slow songs, especially those two. Since it shows a more vulnerable side to Red whenever he sings, and I like that." Keith couldn't help but feel flattered for that, especially since it came from Lance. The guy he has never heard a compliment associated with the name Keith in his whole life. "I actually like Superman too," the raven answered softly. The song is about how the strongest person you know, may sometimes need some help too. That it's okay to show vulnerability. The Superman the song refers to is his Uncle Thace, and how he can be vulnerable too, but still be strong and brave. Lance's eyes widened, but before he could say anything, something glowing caught his eye.

Suddenly, they were surrounded by hundred fireflies. And it was truly a sight to behold. "Why are there so many of them?" Lance asked, as he opened his palm, hoping one would land in palm. "My grandma told me, that fireflies are the souls of the warriors who fought fiercely in battle and died a heroic death." The raven said, as he watched the bioluminescent bugs fly around. Memories of chasing down fireflies with his uncles and parents came rushing back, multiple broken jars and his grandmother's reprimanding voice. A smile tugged on his lips, as his gaze never left the fireflies. The brunette beside him, on the other hand, managed to catch one. "What part of 'Souls of the warriors who fought fiercely in battle', do you not understand?" Keith stated, as he watched Lance hold his closed palm close to his chin. But for once, the brunette didn't answer back. He just stood quietly, with a firefly in his hand. After about a minute, Lance opened his eyes and let the firefly go. When met with Keith's questioning look, the Cuban simply shrugged. "I had a childhood friend back home, that told that if you managed to catch a firefly, it would grant you a wish." The pair stood there, watching the display of lights in awe. It mesmerized Keith how the lights seemed to glow like embers of a flame, while Lance felt like a hundred stars were dancing around them. It felt almost familiar, as if this situation has happened before. A sense of déjà vu, like one would say. It felt like a dream, yet with that dream came the anxious fear of waking up.

* * *

 

 The following day, it was time for everyone to go.

Lance woke up early as usual, yet this time everyone else was already up. Well, almost everybody. Hana and Luis were still half asleep, as they all made their way to their respective vehicles. The four families bid their farewells, before they made their way to different destinations. Pidge stared blankly outside the car window, watching the different colors blur as they moved. She was so exhausted yesterday, that she actually slept early. Despite having slept early, she was still reluctant to be awoken up before the sun rose. "I'm bored!" She exclaimed, throwing hands up in the air. Her parents simply chuckled at their daughter, whilst Matt was passed out. Who would've expected that he would be the one to win their treasure hunt yesterday? Sure, Matt was smart and had all the best universities kissing the very floor he walked on. But he was still kind of oblivious, and just plain clueless at times. Especially, when it came to stuff relating to the great outdoors. Just like his sister, Matt was all gadgets and technology. Things usually done and used inside, not outside. So him winning the treasure hunt,  came as a surprise to everyone. He actually won thanks to dumb luck, according to him. After falling from a tree, he noticed something shiny laying on the dirt beside him. It turned out to be the chest they were supposed to look for, and Matt just so happened to be the first to find it. To be honest, Mr. and Mrs. Holt were very uncertain about letting their children join the scavenger hunt. Since the Holt siblings were very sickly, so they were reluctant to take chances. But they knew their kids were strong and resilient, and they both had the smarts to survive. And as expected, both returned alive and unscathed. Well, except for a few bruises Matt got from falling off a tree. "Well, Katie. Don't you have that book you bought at our stop in Olkarion?" Mr. Holt reminded, as he watched her daughter's face light up from the rear view mirror. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" Pidge was quick to open her duffle bag, and rummage for her book. It was about the history of Romeo and Juliet, and what inspired Shakespeare to write it. Pidge is almost finish reading it, with only a hundred pages left. Despite only having bought it two days ago, while on their way to the beach. Opening the book, the youngest Holt reveled in the smell of the old paper. The stopped over this shop, called Olkarion. The building had three floors, with a small bookstore and coffee shop on the first floor. The second floor had many different futuristic gadgets for different purposes, and old antiquities from different settings. And at the rooftop, was a beautiful garden with a restaurant. Olkarion was a shop, truly, like no other. It mixes the past and the future, and gives a familiar yet alien vibe. And Pidge loved it, every single floor. She wasn't able to get any other souvenirs, other than the book. The book was written by some person with the pen name of L. T. R. Prince. And according to the book, they have been researching about the possible events that might've been witnessed by Shakespeare that inspired them to write such a beautiful tragedy for over 30 years. The book was published in 1971, and was one of only 100 copies ever made. So Pidge truly was lucky to have gotten her hands on such a treasure.

About halfway through their journey, Pidge had already finished her book. And was discussing about L. T. R. Prince's findings. "According to the author, Shakespeare's neighboring town was said to have been the place of death of two young adults. Due to the lack of support from their parents, yet in that story, the two actually managed to run away before being found by a relative." Pidge rambled, as her mother smiled at her. "Wow! I never thought that much of Romeo and Juliet before, yet now I find out people actually make a living out of learning about a piece of literature that we were told to reenact in high school." Said Mrs. Holt, clearly interested in the subject. "But not just that, some say that the girl was pregnant when they took their lives. Which actually makes the story of Romeo and Juliet more tragic than before," said Pidge as she munched on her snacks. "Well, doesn't that make the inspiration for Juliet a more dubious character? She did technically kill herself and her unborn child," Matt said, reaching to get some snacks from Pidge. "Well, no. You see, it's still being speculated whether the girl actually killed herself or not. Since there are evidences of foul play in her suicide, at least that's what the book said." Mr. Holt clicked his tongue, before shaking his head disapprovingly. "What type of monster could kill a pregnant woman? How did the book say they died anyway?" Flipping through the pages, Pidge found the answer to her father's question. "It says here that the guy was said to have been found with a sword pierced through husband stomach, while the girl was killed in an unusual manner." Matt sighed, before taking the entire bag of chips from Pidge. "Unusual manner?" Asked the older Holt sibling as he stuffed his mouth full of chips. "Hey! At least give me some!" Pidge exclaimed, reaching for the bag. "But I don't know, the book didn't delve to much in the girl's death. Since her body was said to have been found, two weeks later than the guy." Pidge explained, as she managed to get a bit of chips. "Well, did they say anything about the familiesof the two lovers?" Asked Matt, as their mother sighed. "They must've felt regretful of their actions, especially since it ended with the deaths of their children." Mrs. Holt added, as Pidge shook her head in agreement.

  
After their discussion between them, the car was left in silence. Matt was using his laptop, while Pidge was back to staring outside her window. But this time, she wasn't bored. She allowed the things she read sink in, it was pretty hard to take in honestly. I mean, killing yourself for the sake of being with your lover? That's pretty fucked up, but not as fucked type as killing a pregnant woman. But technically, the author only said that no one for sure can truly know what inspired Shakespeare to write a story as tragic as Romeo and Juliet. Which was kind of a downside, when you think of how he dedicated almost his entire life to researching about Romeo and Juliet. But in his own words:

_ The masterpiece of Sir William Shakespeare, not only captivated the people. But made them feel as if they were apart of the actual story. In the earlier parts of this book, I was dedicated to finding out the true story behind fiction. But as I reached the end of my research, I came to conclude that the reason why people immortalized such a piece. Everyone believed that it was fiction, but it does not mean that it cannot happen. Or if it already did happen. If the latter were true, the story serves as a warning. If not, the message left by Sir Shakespeare is still unclear. The mystery of behind the story of Romeo and Juliet was what inspired me to research and write about it, and I did. Maybe he wrote such a piece, to inspire many aspiring writers? It doesn't mean the author ended the story, it already ended and satisfied the reader. As my late mother said to me on her deathbed; "Death is not the end." We can never truly know if the story ended in tragedy or if some divine miracle came to reverse what happened in the story. But as I reach the end of my short life, I repeat what my mother told me. My dear reader, "Death is not the end". _

Pidge got chills at the last statement, but he made a point. No one can truly say how the true story came to end, or if it actually did. But whatever it is, it may forever be a mystery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Don't worry I'm still alive! I'm truly sorry for not updating for a few months, but here's a long chapter to compensate. Sorry to keep ya'll waiting!
> 
> Please don't forget to leave kudos and comments, I'm always happy to hear from you guys!


	11. Red and Blue

 

* * *

_"Shiro!"_

_In a matter of minutes, they were surrounded by flames. Beautiful dancers wrapped in Red, Orange, and Gold. With Black and Grey veils, causing his eyes to water._

_Where was he?_

 

_A forest..._

_No, a house?_

_Wait._

_A forest._

_But why...?_

 

_"Allura!"_

_Who's that?_

_A figure, clothed with a grey cloak, turned towards his direction._

 

_Blue._

 

_His throat was beginning to hurt, his eyes are watering from the smoke. This..._

_This is a dream._

_He knows it is. But why does it feel so real?_

_"Allura! Run!"_

_The cloaked figure looked his direction. Those Blue eyes meeting his own, one last time._

_One last time...?_

_The figure bolted, running towards the opposite direction._

_Suddenly, a pain._

_Right in his side._

_An indescribable pain..._

_"Shiro!"_

 

_Wait, no. Don't come here, stay away..._

_Then all went black._

* * *

  

Keith woke up in the middle of the night, gasping for air. He clutched his side, a tingling numbness. He closed his eyes, but blue and reds was all he could see. What was that all about? Keith didn't know. After a while, he felt fine. Looking over towards his nightstand, he turned on his lamp. Checking his phone, bright numbers showed themselves.

2:03 AM

Again. For the fifth time this week. Ever since they came home from the beach, Keith's been having the same nightmare over and over again. Yet, it feels so real. Like it's not just a dream, but a memory. As if, it had actually happened. Shaking his head, Keith laid back down. What does it mean? He's gotten weird dreams before. But this, this is just a whole new level of weird. He's had this dream so many times, that he could sequence the entire thing perfectly. Sighing, Keith placed his phone back in its place. He stared at the ceiling, trying to recall anything from his dream. But he just can't. All he could see is...

Blue.

A very beautiful shade of blue.

Something similar to a sapphire being hit by the sun's light.

Shifting so that he was laying on his side, Keith gave another sigh. Everything was so quiet. Or as quiet as it can be, for someone living in the city. The sound of passing cars, as well as the occasional plane or helicopter. The night air was cold, as the birds were fast asleep. Keith sat up, before rubbing his eyes. Another sleepless night, as it had been since the beach. Looking around his room, the raven's gaze fell upon his guitar. Having no other way of killing time, Keith took his guitar and began to play. His parents weren't home, so there's no one to tell him to be quiet. He began to play, without anything in mind. But the words seemed to find themselves leaving his mouth.

_"Greensleeves is my delight,_

_Greensleeves is my heart of gold._

_Greenselves is my heart of joy._

_And who but my lady,_

_Greensleeves..."_

* * *

Lance woke up gasping for air. 

Looking around, it took him a lot of time to calm down. 

There were no flames.

No fire.

No heat.

No anything whatsoever, other than the messy bedroom of Leandro Alejandro Nataniel Cerezo-Espinosa McClain. If this was something like the Christmas Carol, Lance swore his grandmother's ghost would burst in and scold him for how messy his room was. The thought made him choke out a laugh, and also managed to calm him down. He hated nightmares.

He hated the fact that they feel so real.

That even though they're just figments of your imagination, or some sort of parodied version of a memory. They feel so real. Nightmares make you feel real emotions, that you rarely feel in real life. And there are certain memories he doesn't want parodies of, or emotions he'd want to feel again. 

Groaning, the brunette leans back against the wall. Closing his eyes, Lance gets this idea for a sketch. He stayed like that for a while longer, moving his fingers as if he were tracing the things in his imaginations in real life. A few minutes passed, and Lance immediately open his bedroom lights and grab his sketch pad and pencils. As he began to draw, he unconsciously began to hum an unfamiliar tune, he had just made up. After a couple of minutes, the second youngest McClain looked out his window. The moon was so beautiful tonight, as it had always been. Capturing the hearts of many people, and the imagination and many more. Feeling sleep beginning to take over his senses, Lance headed on to bed.

After settling in, he closed his eyes. 

He can swear, for a moment, he didn't feel like himself at all.

He could feel a calloused hand, running fingers through his hair. Singing that lovely tune.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> High low everybody! 
> 
> This is a very tipsy and tired author speaking. 
> 
> I'm sorry for the incredibly short and uncreative chapter.
> 
> I'm really sorry, I promise I'll come back with a real chapter.
> 
> But for the moment, this is as good as I can get.
> 
> I'm sorry!


	12. The Lion, The Granddaughter, and The Retirement Home

* * *

 

Lance woke up late.

Not only late, but he was also very grumpy. As he entered the dining room, he was greeted by his little brother's voice. "Good morning, sleeping beauty. Spent the entire night dreaming about Keith?" Said Luis, with a brow raised towards his brother. "I'm not in the mood for bullshit, Luis." Lance answered blandly, blasé to the fact that his parents were right there. "Lance! Language!" Mrs. McClain scolded, as his father shook his head. "Go on and take your seat, Mr. Potty mouth." The brunette did what he was told, and ate his breakfast rather apathetically. Ms. Honerva noticed this, and decided to ask. "Are feeling okay, sir Lance?" The aforementioned gave a halfhearted smile, before nodding. "I'm fine, thank you for asking." Mrs. McClain decided to observe her second youngest for a while, noticing a lot of things. He wasn't talking as much, which by itself is odd. He's slouching, and has his head down. The way he lifts his utensils to his mouth, look like he's lifting a dumbbell. Not to mention, his rather pale complexion. "Lance, _mijo_. What's wrong?" The brunette looked up from his food, his gaze falling on his concerned mother. "I'm fine, mama. I really am," reassured Lance. "Have you been getting enough sleep, son?" It was Mr. McClain's turn to ask the question, but Lance simply nodded. "Guys I'm fine, I swear." Luis raised a brow at his older brother's answer, and decided to ask a question of his own. "Okay, then let's change the question; Is there anything bothering you, Lance? You can always tell us, we are your family." Lance sighed, but just as he was about to say something, a maid came in. "Excuse me, ma'am, sir. But Mr. and Mrs. Kogane, as well as their son, are here." The maid moved to the side, to reveal the Kogane family. Lance's parents stood up to greet their guests, not before Mrs. McClain sent Lance a look. The brunette understood his mother's message, they'll continue this conversation later. The adults exchanged their usual pleasantries, as Lance said a greeting of his own. He turned to the only son of the Koganes to greet him, but Keith showed no interest, he had his earphones in his ears and his eyes glued to his phone. Lance must've been staring for too long, because he found himself looking into a mix of grey and purple. The brunette immediately looked away, not wishing to be embarrassed any further. "Oh that reminds me! Keith, Lance." The two teens turned towards Mr. Kogane, who had a smile on his face. Keith had removed one of his earphones to listen, but still showed no interest in the conversation. "Since we assumed you two don't have any other plans this summer, we thought that you'd like to volunteer at the Retirement Home near here." Lance had just finished swallowing his juice, and grinned happily the older man. "I have no other plans, so I'm good with volunteering." Keith shrugged, thinking about it for a moment. "Of course, if you have other plans, it's alright to turn down." Added Mr. McClain, as Luis just watched the entire thing silently. "I'm cool with it," said Keith. Mrs. McClain grinned happily, clapping her hands in glee. "Well that's great, if you kids want, you can start today!" Lance was actually planning to stay in his room and play video games all day, but this sounded like a better idea. He always loved the elderly, they remind him of his grandparents. And plus, hearing stories of their experiences are just amazing. "Well, I'm gonna change and take a bath. I'm so pumped!" Lance said, already standing up. "Unfortunately, we won't be able to go with you guys. We have this event to go to, but don't worry we'll have the driver drive you there." Just as Mrs. Kogane finished her sentence, Keith spoke. "Can I take my motorcycle going there?" The Red Lion, Keith's motorcycle, was actually parked in his secret spot in the forest. His parents know about about, so it's not much of a secret but still. "But Keith, what about Lance?" Mrs. Kogane reminded, gesturing towards the brunette. "Mr. Manolo, our driver, can't drive you there. He has to drive Luis to summer camp." Mr. McClain stated, as Luis gave his brother a concerned look. "It's okay, Mrs. Kogane. I'll take the bus," said the second youngest McClain without any hesitation. "Oh dear! Look at the time! We're gonna be late, we should really go now." The adults nodded, and bid their children goodbye. "Lance, Keith. You two can discuss how you're getting to the Home, and Luis, please double check their things. Bye!" Wth that statement from Mr. McClain, they were gone.

Miss Honerva had already began to clean the table, and Luis had gone upstairs to check his things. Leaving the teens alone together. Lance clicked his tongue, before awkwardly turning to face Keith. "So, what's your plan? I've never ridden a motorcycle before," said Lance as he scratched the back of his neck. "Well, are you willing to try?" Keith asked, quirking a brow at the brunette. Taking this as a challenge, the brunette smirked. "Hell yeah, I am!" Keith gave a smug smile, as Miss Honerva sighed at the two.

* * *

 

After taking a bath and changing, Lance went downstairs to find that Keith was nowhere to be found. Thinking that the raven went without him, the brunette was getting ready to take the bus. When he he received a text from Keith, telling him to meet him outside the gate. What greeted Lance was the sight of Keith, leaning against a bright red Ducati. It took Lance a while to calm himself down, because he's a walking Bisaster. No it wasn't like he thinks Keith is attractive, its just he has a thing for guys with motorcycles. "You ready to go?" Keith asked, putting on his helmet. A black ADV helmet, which thankfully covers that hideous mullet of his. The brunette clutched the strap of his messenger bag, before nodding nervously. The Raven handed over another helmet, red one. After putting on the helmet, Lance stood there like an idiot for about a minute. "We won't get anywhere, if you just stand there." The sound of Keith's annoyed voice snapped Lance out of his trance, causing the latter to blow a raspberry at him. "Don't rush me, mullet! I'm just saying thanks that your helmet covers that rat's nest, you call your hair." Keith just rolled his eyes at that statement. "Seriously, McClain. What's up with you and my hair? And can you just sit your ass down on my bike, so that we can go already?" Lance reluctantly took his place on the bike, mumbling something about mullets being outdated and stupid. After a few moments passed by, the brunette noticed that they weren't moving. "I thought we were going, once I sat my ass down on your bike, mullet?" Keith clicked his tongue, before looking over his shoulder. "Well, do you wanna get into an accident? Wrap your arms around my waist, unless you want to fly off the moment we move." Reluctantly, the brunette wrapped his arms around the raven's waist. Rolling his eyes, Keith started his motorcycle and began to speed off. Halfway through the journey, Keith looked glanced over his shoulder to see Lance with his eyes screwed shut. Deciding to mess with the brunette, the Raven went faster. Lance gave a small yelp, and wrapped his arms tighter around Keith's waist. "You scared, McClain?" Keith asked teasingly, making the engine roar. "Sh-shut up, mullet! Keep y-your eyes on the r-r-road!" Lance had his face buried in the Raven's shoulder, too scared to even lift his head. When they finally got there, it took Keith a while before he managed to pry the brunette off of him.

Lance was still a bit shaky as he walked, while Keith looked smug with himself. The brunette threw the Raven a glare, which the latter simply chuckled at. As they entered, they were greeted by a woman in her late 30's or early 40's. "Are you two here to volunteer?" Asked the lady, whose name tag read Luxia. "Yes, yes we are." Lance answered enthusiastically, while Keith only nodded. Luxia smiled at the two boys, and motioned them to follow her. She taught them what they need to know and what they need to do. After a while, the two boys had finally gotten the hang of taking care of the old people. It wasn't as easy as it looks. The elderly tend to act like children and throw tantrums. It takes a lot of patience and understanding. Lance had to keep Keith from snapping at an old man three times now, but the latter was learning to control his temper more. Lance wasn't going to lie, but he has his favorites. There's Gloria, a former dancer and performer during World War Two. And then, Joseph, a man with Alzheimer's, whom Lance adores because of his never ending, though redundant, stories. But there's one old person that stood out the most to the two teens. A man named, Mr. Prince. He was in his 70's according to Luxia, and oddly has no hair on the top of his head, but has very long hair at the back. According to Luxia, Mr. Prince is very quiet. He's usually seen reading the same book he's read since he got there, which was Romeo answer Juliet. He talks to the staff and other people, but mostly prefers reading. He's visited weekly by his daughter and granddaughter, who was about their age. Lance was curious about Mr. Prince, because unlike the others, Mr. Prince doesn't like introducing himself with his first name. And has actually asked the staff, to refer to him only as Mr. Prince. "Keith, what do you think of Mr. Prince?" Lance asked, coming up behind Keith, who was playing chess with Bill, a another resident of the home. "I think he's fine, why'd you ask?" Lance beside Keith, just looking at Mr. Prince from afar. "I don't know, I just want to talk to him." The Raven raised a brow, but refused to leave his eyes off the board. "Then talk to him, you've talked to nearly everyone here and made friends with them. What's so different about Mr. Prince?" Keith asked, after moving his queen, so that it managed to kill Bill's king. "—Checkmate," said the Raven. Bill gave him a smile, and shook his hand. "You're a great player, son." Lance sighed, and slid his head down. "I don't know, I just feel weird around him. Can you come with me when I talk to him?" The brunette asked, while Keith began to clean and put the pieces back in their proper place. "Ugh, fine."

After a while, the two teens go up to Mr. Prince. "Good afternoon, Mr. Prince. I'm Lance, and this is Keith. We're volunteers here, it's a pleasure to meet you." Mr. Prince turned to the direction of the sound source, before giving a smile. "My, my. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lance." Mr. Prince said, as he looked over towards Keith. "Are you two dating?" The question took the teens by surprise, causing Keith to cover his face in his hands. "No, no, no. Mr. Prince, me and Keith are only friends." Mr. Prince took a long look at the two of them, before turning back towards Lance. "Well then, I guess I'm wrong. But don't worry, we're all friends of Dorothy here." Keith removed his hands and just shrugged, giving up on trying to explain. Lance just gave a nervous laugh, and ran his fingers through his hair. The moment he did though, Mr. Prince's granddaughter appeared from behind them. Keith's eyes widened, as Lance simply waved. It was obvious both of them are familiar with said granddaughter. "Hi pop-pop!" Said a familiar voice, with an odd tone of voice.

"It's nice to see you again, Acxa."


	13. The Concert

* * *

To say that Acxa was a very beautiful girl, that would be a lie. She was absolutely gorgeous in all her being, from bottom to top. Her hair was cut to a bob, parted to the sides. The tips were a soft lilac, while the top was a wild violet. Her eyes were striking, calculating and cold. With an angular face, her lips were colored purple. She wore a denim jacket, which covered the cropped spaghetti strap. Her high waisted shorts covered what should be bare skin, were partnered with combat boots. She had an athletic built, broad shoulders and an hour glass figure. But if one were to compare her to Lotor, one wouldn't say that they were related at first. But take a closer look, and you'll find the same striking eyes and alluring smile from the two. Lance was in awe as he stared at Acxa, she was stunning. She radiated an aura of power and mystery. She was the sky as the sun sets. She was the end of the lions' competion. Always a tie. With no winner, nor loser.

"Acxa," Keith began. "What are you doing here?" The aforementioned raised a brow, before responding. "I should be the one asking that question, Keith." Lance stood in silence, as he watched the conversation between the two. They were teasing each other, flirting in their own dangerous way. This was what it looked like to the Ocean Blue eyes watching the scene. A cough interrupted the moment between the two teens, as all three gazes fell upon the old man sitting in his mahogany chair. "Would you kids care to explain how you know each other?" Mr. Prince asked, with a white brow raised. In all honesty, Lance had never actually formally met Acxa before. Only exchanging polite smiles in the hallways, and never anything more. Acxa took a seat on the empty chair beside her grandfather, and began to explain how she knows the two boys. "Lance is my schoolmate, though he and I never actually conversed formally before. And Keith," her eyes trailed to the raven. Keith raised a brow, before Acxa's gaze fell on Lance, then back at Keith. Mr. Prince seemed to understand what those looks meant, and simply nodded. "He's the boy in your band, right?" Now, the mundane conversation became more interesting to the brunette. "You're in a band?" Lance asked, his gaze turning to the raven. Keith shrugged, before nodding. The brunette should've noticed it sooner, or even suspected. I mean, he's heard the raven play multiple times now. It should not even surprise him anymore, but why does it surprise him to hear such expected news? "Yeah," was Acxa's response to Lance's question. She gave Keith a glance, before turning back to the brunette.

"You know, Lance, we have a show later. Wanna come and watch?" Keith's purple eyes widened, as Acxa had a ghost of a smirk on her face. Mr. Prince quietly watched the scene unfold, the emotion in his eyes indiscernable. Lance thought for a while, he had nothing else to do at home anyway. His parents were either going to be busy or come home late, not to mention Luis went to summer camp. Marco is spending his summer in college, visiting only on weekends and the occasional Thursday. Veronica is most likely to be busy, since NASA had personally contacted her to be apart of some government project. Rachel was still in Cuba, continuing her studies there. "Sure, I'll ask permission." He took out his phone, and texted his parents. Not even a second later, his mama answered with a happy face emoji and an OK. He looked back at Acxa and Keith, and gave them a bright smile. "They said yes," he said. Acxa gave him a smile, before they bid Mr. Prince goodbye. Lance had a hard time leaving, especially since Gloria said she would dance for him. As they went out, Lance heard Keith whisper to Acxa, as to why invite him. The brunette furrowed his brows in annoyance, before loudly responding. "If you don't want me to go, then I won't." Acxa shook her head at Keith, giving him a kick to the shins, before turning to face Lance. "Don't mind him, Lance. _I_ invited you, remember? Not Keith," she said. Lance was beginning to like Acxa, no--he absolutely adores Acxa. The raven muttered something, before stopping outsode the entrance of the home.

"Wait, what about Red?" The three teens stopped to look at the motorcycle, Lance felt bad for  the vehicle, just imagining it whimpering like a kicked puppy. "Just leave it here, return for it later. I'll drop you off here and you go home, while I take Lance back to his place." Acxa explained, not even giving the bike a second look. The brunette felt like a child again, whenever his parents had to discuss grown up things in front of him. "You brought your jeep, didn't you?" Keith asked, as he noticed the shiny object in the back pocket of Acxa's jeans. "Yup," was the girl's only response, popping the 'p'. "But didn't your mom take away your jeep privileges?" The raven asked, causing the girl to sigh in annoyance. "I'll deal with the consequences tomorrow, right now, we have a gig to go to." Lance was silent, admiring the girl's rebellious attitude. Keith shook his head like a disappointed father figure, as they continued to walk through the parking lot. They stopped in front of a Camo Green jeep, that looked like it's seen better days. There were a couple of dents here and there, and a few scratches. Not to mention the large crack on the windshield. Yup, the poor thing has definitely seen better days. "Ever heard of a mechanic, Ace?" Keith asked, inspecting the large spiderweb crack on the window. "I have, dated two actually. Brother and sister, remember?" Keith rolled his eyes at the memory, it wasn't a good one. He recalled seeing a pissed off Rolo, after seeing his sister making out with his then girlfriend, Acxa. Followed by a phone call from Acxa a few days later, asking for help because her tires had been slashed and her windshield was cracked. It had seemed that Nyma found out about that little stunt Acxa pulled, and decided to get revenge. "More like slept with them, Ace." Lance just stayed quiet and flushed, he had always been a good boy, according to his siblings. Other than the occasional prank and a few fights back in elementary and middle school, his high school life was very peaceful. The honking of a horn snapped Lance out of his thoughts, as he turned to see Acxa already inside the jeep. "Well, what are you two waiting for? A man to fall from the sky claiming to have been abducted by a UFO, after a failed mission to try and collect samples from a celestial body? Get in!"

* * *

 

After a few minutes of travelling, they stop in front of what looks like a basketball court. Inside, the sound of guitars and drums could be heard. Lance was pushed inside by Keith, where a hell lot of people were. There was a large stage in the very middle, surrounded by an insanely large crowd. "Woah, how did you even get us a place here?" Keith asked, his purple eyes wide in shock. Acxa smirked, but left the question unanswered. The two left Lance in a small corner, where a few seats can be found. "Stay here, and wait for us. Or at least try to enjoy yourself," was the final statement from Keith before they left. The entire place was bright and smoky, not to mention loud and suffocating. He could barely enjoy the music, due to the couple that was snogging beside him.

After a few minutes, the entire place was silenced. The sound of the microphone got Lance's attention, and to his surprise, he could see Keith on the stage. He had a guitar and the crowd went wild, when they realized who was on the stage. Acxa had a bass guitar, with two other girls playing drums and keyboard. Lance could recognize them as Zethrid, who was the drummer, and Ezor, who was the pianist. On the drumset, one can clearly see the words 'Sincline Ships' written on it. Keith's purple eyes found Lance, and smirked at his general direction, before giving a wink. The brunette felt his heart skip a beat, as they began to play the song.

 _"Have you got color in your cheeks?_ _Do you ever get the feeling that you can't shift the tide. That sticks around like something's in your teeth. And some aces up your sleeve. I had no idea that you're in deep, I dreamt about you nearly every night this week."  
_

As a child, Lance adored dancing. His grandparents were his first teachers, just him watching them waltz in the living room in their house in Cuba. With Kenny Rogers' Classic Hits playing in the background, with the smell of Abuela's perfume and favorite scented candles filling his nose. His second teacher was Rachel, and her hips swaying along to some song by Shakira. There's a video of a five year old Lance, clinging to his Shark Plushie, trying to waltz while at the same time swaying his hips like Shakira. He was born to dance, his mama always said that he was a dancer before he could walk. Always wriggling around at the sound of music, laughing and giggling at the melody. He could dance to any song, and his body just moves on its own whenever the right song plays. This is a perfect example.

By the second verse, Lance had already stood up and started dancing. His hips swaying sensually to the gentle beat, those Ocean Blue eyes closed in bliss. Keith saw how Lance dances, his lips curled upwards.

Lance was in a different place at the moment. No sweaty bodies moving around him, no smoke. He was dancing alone, dancing along to Keith's voice. The brunette stopped for a while, recognizing the voice from somewhere. He thought for a while, then opened his eyes, and met Keith's gaze. Almost immediately, Lance recalled why that voice sounded so familiar. Following the performance, was a big round of applause and cheer from the crowd. But the second youngest McClain stood there dumbfounded. When Keith and Acxa returned, Lance was still a solid statue. "Hey, Lance?" Acxa began, placing her hand on Lance's shoulder. This caused the brunette to snap out of his trance, before looking at Keith with wild and unbelieving eyes. "You're Red, from PoV?" Keith's eyes widened, while Acxa just shook her head. She knew the raven can't hate those things forever.  But only one thing never changed, she's always right. Always.


	14. What time is it?

 

* * *

In a blink of an eye, summer had passed. Gone were the days spent in the sun. Gone was the feeling of the warm breeze running through one's hair, filling one's nose with the salty smell of the sea. With the summer's disappearance, ended were short-lived romances. The warm embrace of a loved one, only to be replaced by the bitter chill of loneliness. The leaves turned brown, falling to decorate the grass with reds, oranges, and yellows. Swimtrunks and bikinis were replaced with sweaters and scarves. Malls no longer feature beach balls and suns in their posters, but instead have books and pens. Everyone knew what was coming, yet no one had the power to stop it.

"Back to school!"

Shay exclaimed, running fast ahead the rest of her friends. Hunk smiled, but his eyes show no joy or glee at the thought of returning to school. Pidge, the braniac, held in her hands two cups of black coffee, both halfway finished. Under her eyes were dark bags, serving as a reminder of what time she had slept last night, or this morning. Lance smiled happily at Shay's excitment, but he does not looked pleased at the idea. "This is hell," stated Pidge upon entering the school grounds. "Come on, Pidge. It's senior year, maybe it's gonna be better!" Hunk tried, although he looked warily at Mr. Iverson, their gym teacher. He was known for making every student suffer, by forcing them to run five laps around the oval. He was also very strict, like more than what should be accepted. If gym was your class before lunch, he'd most definitely ask to see your lunches. And will threaten to give you a failing grade, if he sees the lack of healthy foods in your lunch. But a lot of students understand, well some students. He, probably, is just looking out for his students' health. After all, his class is about being physically healthy. "Hunk's right, Pidge. What's so bad about going back to school?" Shay asked, finally deciding to slow down to keep pace with her friends. Just as she had said that, Matt ran by. Being chased by Rolo, whose blonde hair is now dyed a rainbow. "I'll get you for this, Holt!" Pidge simply raised a brow, before gesturing to what just happened. "Oh come on, one simple misshap with Matt and Rolo happens all the time. Not to mention, it never really escalates. You never know, it is the first day. What's the worst that could happen?" Everyone looked at each other, exchanging these knowing looks.

* * *

 

"...Lance got slapped twice, Hunk vomitted after Mr. Slav had him ride his latest invention, and Keith got detention for getting into a fist fight with Rolo." Shay was in shock, as Pidge recounted all the things that had happened in the past few hours. "Not to mention, remember that Mr. Slav also broke a door this morning." All of what was said were very much true. Lance got hurt, having been slapped twice and kicked three times. The brunette sat beside Hunk, holding an ice pack against his swollen cheeks, he never expected Heather to hit him that hard. Keith had a black eye and cut lip, but didn't seemed to mind. "May I ask, but why did you guys get injured that much today?" Lance looked pretty down, people usually expect that he had gotten hurt because of flirting. That was wrong. Heather was bullying a freshman for having a bisexual flag on her bag, that ticked Lance off. He went over and told Heather to leave the kid alone, but she just kicked him out of the way and continued the verbal assault. The kid was already crying, so Lance once again told Heather to piss off. But she retaliated by slapping him twice, saying very cruel words like 'spic', 'slut', and 'fag'. It hurt Lance, but he wanted to help the kid. So he had grabbed the kid by the wrist, and told a teacher. Fortunately, the teacher was very mad and so Heather is currently in the principal's office.

"Ask someone else, Shay. I don't wanna talk about it," he said. All eyes then turned to Keith, he simply took a sip from his juice box before answering. "Rolo and Nyma were talking shit about Acxa, so I told them to fuck off. But Rolo punched me, before saying thag I'm just one of Acxa's 'Boy toys' and continued to talk shit about you guys. So I got up and fought him, better to get a couple.of bruises than have my friends' names get slandered all over yhe place."

Everyone exchanged smiles, before Matt came running in. "You guys have to hide me!" He exclaimed, before taking refuge under the table. "Why?" Shay asked, concerned for the boy. "More importantly, from who? Because if it's Iverson, you can just perish." Pidge said, taking a bite from her cookie. "I'm hiding from Slav, because he wants me to help him do this experiment. The last time I did an experiment with him, the school had to call the fire department. And Pidge, fuck you. I should've left in that street corner where you where standing." Hunk recalled the experiment, a classroom had erupted in flames. They were lucky and the other classrooms weren't affected. Incidents like those make him wonder, why Slav is still teaching. "Butcha didn't," Pidge responded without any emotion in her eyes. Keith rolled his eyes, while Lance just slow clapped.

Suddenly, the cafeteria doors opened. Mr. Slav immediately ran to their table, Matt visibly shook. "Ah, my favorite students all sitting in one table. By the way, have you seen Matt Holt? You know, the more grizzled and male version of Katie?" Pidge deadpanned, while Matt's blood went cold. He liked the compliment, but the thought that Slav is asking where he is and that there is a possibility of Pidge betraying him, that's just terrifying. Mr. Slav's eyes scanned their faces, waiting for an answer. Pidge was about to say something, before Mr. Slav's gaze fell on Lance and Keith. "Lance and Keith! Are you two aware that there is a 78% chance, that you two are actually reincarnations in more than 25 different realities! And the chances that we are in one of those realities are 93%!" The two teen looked at each other, before Mr. Slav saw something. "Your utensils aren't arranged!" He began to fix them in an order; spoon, fork, spoon, fork... Before his eyes fell on the single knife, and began to rearrange them again. Matt took this as the time to run, while Pidge's eyes followed him. Once Mr. Slav had finished arranging the utensils, he smiled at the group once again. "Mr. Slav, I think I saw Matt run in that direction." Pidge said, pointing at the direction her brother ran to. "Ah, yes. Thank you, Katie. Now, would he be running? Maybe he realized that this is the reality with the 87% chance of him not ending up with Nyma! Oh well, I guess I have to help him accept it." With that final statement, Slav had left. Shay smiled, before turning to Lance and Keith. 

"Reincarnations, huh? How odd it would be, if that may actually be true." She said, before continuing to eat her pasta. Keith rolled his eyes, while Lance scoffed. "You know, you two can't deny the truth of numbers and science." Pidge added, while Lance frowned. "A man who dedicated his life to science believing in such superficial things? Please," Keith said. "The world is full of mysteries, Keith. You never know what secrets it has hidden from us humans. Life and Death have ways to surprise us," said Hunk with a happy smile. Lance pursed his lips, thinking about those words. His grandmother believed that love, life, and death were intertwined with one another. Because according to her, love can be found in both life and death. Like flowers and music. Art can be about both flowers and music. Both can also be considered art. Because to her, art is beauty. And both flowers and music are beautiful, regardless of where you put them. But a flower can have thorns and music can convey bad messages. Like how life can be miserable and death can be sad. But a little bit of love and the ability to see beauty in the ugliest things, can change everything. Lance never understood his grandmother's words, till now he still doesn't get it.

"Yeah, Hunk's right. Sometimes you just gotta stop overthinking, let fate do its work." Shay said, before the bell rang. They all went away, leaving Lance and Keith alone.

They both shared the same class, so they left together. The walk to the classroom was quiet, no arguing whatsoever. "Do you believe what Slav said?" Keith asked, while Lance pursed his lips. "I don't really know what to think of it, to be honest." Keith actually believed in what Slav said. His Uncle Kolivan always told him that the universe has a way with messing with you, so there actually is that possibility of the reincarnation thing being true. Not to mention, he was a man of science. And if he knew Slav, which he actually does, he knows that the guy is an expert in those things. Having been awarded for multiple scientific theories being proved by his math and research, although it is unclear why he chose to become a physics teacher. "How about you?" Lance asked, the raven must believe if he were to ask such a question, although Lance needed to clarify. "If I'm being honest, I do. You can't fake numbers and science, can you?" Lance was about to respond, when they finally got to classroom, he quickly opened the door for Keith. The other raised a brow, before entering. Lance furrowed a brow, why did that feel so natural? He brushed it off, his parents did raise a good boy after all.

After school, Keith went home to an empty apartment. On the counter, there was a note. "Went out to buy groceries. Love, mom." Keith gave a soft smile, before his phone rang. Hunk sent an attatchment to the group chat, with the caption: 'LOOK AT THIS'. Being curious, Keith checked it out. It showed a video of Mr. Slav and Matt, who did not look pleased, working on a mechanical lion. "Sir, what's this for anyway?" Matt asked in the background, while Slav continued to tinker with the machine. "Well, Matt. It's for—Gah! Fire!" The video then moved to show that the shelf was on fire, while Slav hurriedly grabbed the extinguisher to put it out. "Oh shit, not again." Was Matt's statement in the background, before the video ended. "Well, that might explain where dad went." He said, turning to Yorak, who simply barked.

* * *

 

The next day at school, Lance bolted towards Hunk. "Hunky! I forgot to ask you something yesterday!" Hunk was talking to Shay, when he was pounced. "Gah! What the fritters and fries, Lance!?" Pidge walked over, taking a sip from her fifth can of coke that morning. "Can't you say 'Fuck' like a normal person?" She said, while Shay gave her a granola bar. "Pidge, it's not good to be drinking soda this early." She scolded, while the petite girl quickly took the granola bar. "Tut tut tut tut! You're as guilty as he is Pidge! Or should I say Green from Paladins of Voltron!" Pidge dropped her granola bar, while Hunk's jaw dropped. Lance stood up before helping his best friend up. "How did you know?" Hunk asked, just as Keith walked in. Blue eyes turned to the raven, who has no idea what's happening. "Red told me," the brunette said. When Pidge got over her shock, she smiled deviously. "So you know that Keith, Hunk, and I are Red, Yellow, and Green. And Mr. Emo Boy Next door was the one to tell you?" Lance nodded, while Hunk just stared. "Hm, interesting..." The look in the girl's eyes should've been taken as a warning. The petite girl turned to Keith, who was caught off guard by Pidge's following statement. "You know, Keith. Lance had always said that you had the voice of, and I quote: 'A choir of angels signalling the arrival of a divine being'. And he's had the biggest crush on you, saying how much he'd love for you to fu—" Lance immediately went over to civer the petite girl's mouth, being as red as a tomato. Keith raised a brow, his face suddenly feeling a tad bit warm. The three others laughed, while Lance hid his face for the rest of the day in shame. He was never getting over this. And he was definitely going to make the little gremlin pay back.


	15. Cheerleader

 

* * *

"What are we even doing here, Zethrid?"

Keith furrowed his brows, watching the cheerleaders do their warmup. The taller girl beside him simply rolled her eyes, before gesturing towards the rest of their football team. "Doing the same thing they are: watching hot girls and guys flex and climb on top of each other, duh!" Keith could only roll his eyes, of course they were. From where he sat, he could see who exactly Zethrid is looking at. Ezor smiled sweetly at the sight of her girlfriend, blowing a kiss and winking at her direction. The raven rolled his eyes, he'd rather go home. He didn't like staying here anymore. Keith debated on whether to leave Zethrid or stay, besides, there are more important things to do than watch people balance each other like a stack of cards. Deciding to leave, Keith was about to stand up, when a certain someone appeared. A certain blue eyed, brunette named Lance McClain. He was obviously late, earning a scolding from their coach. The boy smiled apologetically before quickly joining the others do their warmups. "Hey, Red. Isn't that the guy you and Acxa took to see our concert last summer?" Keith nodded, not caring to comprehend his friend's questions. He was too distracted by Lance.

Maybe staying here to watch them practice wasn't as bad as he had originally thought...

The raven watched as Lance climbed up on top of two other male cheerleaders, a bright grin on his eyes. Keith watched in awe, he simply couldn't tear his eyes away. Those blue eyes sparkled with glee, as his brown hair stuck to his fotehead. Keith couldn't wrap his head on how Lance's eyes can be like that. There are days, his eyes are as bright as the clear skies during summer. On others, they're as calm as the ocean. His eyes, his bronze skin, his smile. His bright personality. Lance is amazing. Keith couldn't think straight or care about anything else, the view of the brunette smiling and doing the thing that overjoys him, is just everything to him at the moment.

Suddenly, a strong gush of wind passed by. The raven could see the boy struggle to keep his balance, before eventually falling. Purple eyes widened, before Keith quickly ran to Lance's direction. The cuban boy was laying on the ground, a crowd of concerned teammates forming around him. Keith couldn't care about their whispers, as he made his to his friend's form. "McClain! Are you alright? Can you stand?" Coach Hira immediately went to his aid, carefully examining the boy. "Yeah, I think so." Lance struggled, before giving up. The coach examined the brunette's imjuries, before checking his ankle. It was swollen. "McClain, you need to go to nurse's office." Everything ached, he couldn't stand up. But what hurt more was the look on coach's face, she looked worried for him. There was so much concern written on her face, that it hurts. "Ma'am, I can get Lance to the clinic." Keith offered, after examining the injuries attained. Everyone just stared at the raven, while Lance's eyes widened and tried his hardest to stand. "No! I can stand, coach! I swear! I can still continue!" The brunette argued stubbornly, while their coach gave him a glare, effectively shuttng him up. "Lance..." She warned, before turning to the raven. "Mr. Kogane, are you sure? I could recall that Mr. Iverson was calling for the football players already, ar—" Keith quickly cut her off by carefully lifting the brunette up in his arms, bridal style. "Hey! Put me do—Coach! Coach, I can still stand! I just need some time to se—Put me down!" Lance blushed, as he looked up at the raven. He swore that if he wasn't hurt, he would've kicked Keith to China. But his demands fell on deaf ears, although Coach Hira gave him a concerned look. "No, ma'am. It's alright, I'll just explain what happened to Mr. Iverson. He would understand," he responded. To be honest, they both knew telling Iverson what actually happened would raise more questions. But at the moment, Iverson could kiss his ass. Lance is hurt and Keith will be damned, if the former doesn't heal faster.

* * *

It must have been an odd sight for teachers and students alike. The school's quarterback carrying the male flyer of the cheer squad in his arms, sounds like something that would normally happen in teen movies. Lance was quiet, hiding his face in Keith's chest when someone looked at their direction. "You're stronger than you look," mumbled the brunette. The raven smiled softly, shifting the boy in his arms. "So are you, that fall must've hurt. By the way, does it still hurt?" Lance stayed quiet, trying to move his ankle to no avail. "Ouch! Yup, it still hurts!" Keith grimaced, before knocking on the door. Romelle was the one to open the door, the smile on her face disappearing when she saw Lance.

Keith stayed with Lance the entire time, even though Ms. Dayak had already told him to leave and was giving him the evil eye. He stayed. After that, the brunette was advised to stay for a while and rest his leg. "Keith, are you sure you aren't gonna attend practice? Iverson will kill you," he advised. "Nah, it's fine. All that matters to me now, is you." Keith's face grew warmer when he said those words, as did Lance's. "By the way, what were you doing there earlier?" The brunette quickly changed the topic after he recalled seeing the raven watching them, even when the other football players have left. "Nothing, just wanted to see what you guys do, that's all." The lie came out smoothly, but Lance was still suspicious. "Why? You always see us do our thing when you guys have a game," the brunette countered.

"I'm always focused on the game," answered Keith.

"But why be interested?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, yes it does." Their banter caught the attention of Ms. Dayak, who sent them a chilling glare. The other students followed suit, with some only raising their brows at the two boys. The two blushed, as Lance whispered a polite apology before turning to the raven. "This is your fault," he said, a little quieter now. Keith rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "And how was it my fault?" The brunette leaned towards his direction, those blue eyes challenging. "If you'd just tell me why you were watching us practice, then we wouldn't be arguing." The raven also leaned forward, the space between them getting smaller. "Well, if you didn't ask and just left it alone, then it wouldn't have escalated." The tension between them grew, before both broke out in a fit of giggles. Ms. Dayak rolled her eyes at the two, before sighing exasperatedly. "Teenagers..."

Hunk hurriedly ran to the clinic. Saying rushed apologies to those whom he had accidentally bumped into. "Lance... What have you gotten yourself into this time, buddy?" Hunk mumbled to himself, not minding the looks given by his fellow students. They could judge all they want, he didn't care.  
When he finally reached the clinic, he knocked before slowly opening the door. Hunk was panting like a madman, trying his best to catch his breath. Peeking, he smiled softly at what he saw. Keith and Lance, with the latter laying on the bed, just quarreling with each other. Lance had a blush on his face, while Keith was smiling at him. Suddenly, Pidge was beside him. "How's Lance?" She asked, pushing up her glasses. Hunk opened the door a bit more, careful not to startle the two boys inside. Pidge's concerned face took a devilish turn, when she fished out and her phone and took a pic of the two. "Lance is so not gonna love you for that, Pidge." Hunk stated, watching as the petite girl took numerous pics of the two boys. "I don't need him to love me, cuz he already has somebody else, Hunky." The taller boy could only smile.

* * *

 

Weeks had passed, yet Keith's protectiveness and concern did not waver. Lance ankle had gotten better, he was even given the green light by Ms. Dayak. "I don't want to see you back here, Mr. McClain." Was what she had said, after writing an official notice stating that Lance was good to go. The brunette was happy that he was able to join practice again, especially since there had been a few changes made to their routine while he was away. He was able to catch up of course, but he was no longer going to be a flyer. Since Coach Hira was adamant about her decision of having him be a spotter instead, not wanting to risk another injury. Another thing that had changed ever since the accident, was Keith's presence during practice. He and Lance had also grown closer, due to the fact that the raven refuses to leave Lance alone. He was protective over the brunette. Not that Lance minded, in fact, he kinda likes it.

"Lance!"

Just as the aforementioned was about to enter the bus, Keith came running. The brunette turned, an eyebrow raised. "What is it this time, Mullet?" He asked, feeling Sendak—the bus driver—'s glare. "Wanna ride with me instead?" Lance's eyes widened, while Hunk and Pidge, who were inside the bus, looked out the window and began to fan over the scene. Keith had a blush across his face, which made him irresistable to the brunette. The raven was scratching the back of his neck, awkwardly waiting for Lance's reply.

"Hey! Are you going in or out?" Sendak called out, obviously irritated at the two boys. Lance blushed, while Keith sent him a glare. "Just go already!" Pidge yelled from inside the bus, causing the brunette to hop out. He glared at her from outside, while she smiled happily and waved goodbye. Lance looked back at Keith, who gave him an extra helmet. The brunette eyes widened, before looking back at the raven. "We're going to take Red?" He asked stupidly, earning a nod from the other. What had he gotten himself into.

The ride home was fun, to put it simply. Keith had fun messing with Lance, who would bury his face in his back whenever they went fast. When they got to the McClain household, Ms. Honerva was already outside to greet them. Though, she was surprised to see Keith with the brunette. "Good afternoon, Sir Lance, Sir Keith." Lance smiled at her, before giving her a hug. "Hi, Ms. Honerva!" Keith simply gave her a polite wave, not being the type to give hugs and stuff like that. "Would you like to come in, Sir Keith?" Ms. Honerva asked, after taking Lance's bag. The raven declined, before the older woman nodded and decided to leave the two boys alone. "Well, that was fun." The brunette said, giving helmet back to Keith. "Yeah, we should do that more often." The raven stated, causing both boys to blush. Keith wanted to bang his head against a wall; what was he saying? There was an awkward silence between them, before Lance broke it by coughing. "You should go, you're parents are most definitely looking for you." Keith rolled his eyes at the statement, before scoffing. "Yeah, sure they are." Was the raven's sarcastic reply, causing the brunette to furrow his brows in concern. "Why wouldn't they?" He asked, taking a step closer to the other boy. "It's nothing, Lance. You should go inside now," replied Keith. Lance frowned, before deciding to put a hand on the raven's shoulder. "Hey look, if you need someone to talk to. I'm here, you know..." Keith smiled softly at Lance, before bidding him farewell.

"Parting is such sweet sorrow."

The brunette said jokingly, when the raven started his bike.

"That I shall say good night, till it be morrow!"

Keith replied, flashing him a playful grin before speeding away. When the raven was just a little speck away, Lance couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity wash over him. He sighed, before entering the house.


	16. Starry, Starry Night

 

* * *

Lance could only stare at the mahogany door, hearing the sounds of arguing on the other side. He was currently at Keith's place, after the latter asked for help with his Spanish assignment. They were halfway finished, when the raven's phone rang. It had been Acxa who was calling, based on the caller ID Lance saw. From what he was able to make out, the fight was something about what Keith had done.

Not a while later, the raven re-entered. An apologetic smile on his face, as he made his way to the bed. "Sorry to keep you waiting, hope it's okay." Lance furrowed his brows, studying the other's face. Keith had a crease on his forehead and a ghost of a scowl on his face, not to mention the obvious tension in his shoulders. "Hey, it's alright. The only problem is; you don't look okay." Lance pointed out, watching as the other tensed at the statement. "Am I too obvious?" Keith asked, before laughing humorlessly. The brunette furrowed his brows even more, unable to see anything comedic about the situation. "We're not going to continue," announced Lance. The raven stared at him in confusion, his gaze falling towards the closed textbook. "Why?" Keith asked, watching Lance stand up and walk over to his guitar. "May I?" The brunette asked, gesturing to the instrument. The raven nodded, as Lance immediately took the guitar before making his way back. "You still haven't answered my question, McClain." The brunette continued to ignore him, causing Keith to scowl. "Seriously, Lance. Are we not going to continue studying?" The raven asked irritatedly, catching other boy's attention. "We are," he said. "We're just gonna have a little break first," with that Lance began to play. Keith rolled his eyes, before laying down on his bed. If the brunette gives him a little time to relax, there's no point in arguing about it.

_"Besame,_  
_Besame mucho_  
_Como si fuera ésta noche_  
_La última vez"_

The moment Lance began to sing, Keith couldn't help but stare in awe. The other's voice was so smooth and velvety, it caught him off guard. He watched as the brunette's slender fingers strummed the strings with ease. The raven felt his ears grow hot, when Lance continued to sing.

_"Besame, besame mucho_  
_Que tengo miedo a perderte_  
_Perderte después"_

His voice reminds Keith of the summer they spent together. The sound of the waves gently hugging the shore, the sun kissing the trees goodbye as it sets. It may sound cheesy, but there is just no other way to describe Lance's singing. It gives the raven a sense of calm.

Keith continued to listen. Not minding the vibration of his phone or the annoying sound of pages being flipped by the wind, he was too distracted. Once Lance had finished singing, the raven gave him a round of applause. The brunette blushed, before smiling proudly. "Thank you, thank you. Thank you very much, kind sir." Lance answered in a posh accent, bowing his head and waving his hand. Keith laughed at his antics, before asking. "Where did you learn to play the guitar?" The brunette smiled softened, his blue eyes glazing over. "My brother..." He replied, his voice barely above a whisper. There was a moment of silence between them, when Keith got an idea.

"Hey Lance, do you think our homework could wait?" The raven asked, watching Lance gaze down to the unfinished assignment. "No, if you ask me. We should seriously finish this, especially since there's only like two items left." The brunette saw the disappointment on the raven's face, before he nodded. "Well, come on and let's finish this then. I have something we could do afterwards," was Keith's response. Lance furrowed his brows, before crossing his arms over his chest. "And what may that be?" The brunette asked, while the raven only smiled. "You'll find out soon," he replied.

After a few minutes, they were finally done. Lance closed the textbook, before turning to Keith. "So Mullet, what are we gonna do?" The raven smirked, before pulling the brunette to his feet.

* * *

 

They went down from the apartment, to the parking lot below. Keith dragged Lance to where Red was parked, covered by those weird things used to cover cars with. The raven removed the gray material, revealing the scarlet colored motorcycle to the world. "Hey, Red. Do you know where your rider is going to take me?" The brunette said, running his hands over the bike's leather seat. Lance knew well that the bike won't answer and if it would, he would've ran to the nearest asylum and asked to be treated. Keith chuckled, grabbing his spare helmet and putting it on the other's head. "Where are we going, Keith?" The brunette asked once more, watching as the raven puts on his own helmet. "Depends, do you trust me?" Keith held out his hand, as the other boy looked down before looking back up again. Taking the gloved hand, Lance nodded.

Without a moment to spare, Lance found himself on Keith's bike again. Clinging for dear life with the wind whistling in his ears, only to be overpowered by the sound of Red's engine. "Where are we going?!" The brunette asked, raising his voice. "Just wait and see!" Keith replied, feeling the other boy had rolled his eyes. "How can I be sure that you're not going to take me to some abandoned warehouse to kill me or something?!" Lance asked once more, squeaking when he felt Red go faster. The raven laughed, feeling the brunette's grip around his waist tighten. "And why would I do that? You're too cute to kill!" Now, that last bit caught Lance by surprise. After that conversation, the rest of the ride was spent in silence. Keith wanted the ground to swallow him whole at the moment. Why did he say that? Gods, he hates his life.

When they finally arrived at their destination, Lance felt like he had been drenched in cold water. Keith had taken him to Melenor's point, the so called 'Secret of Arus'. It was located far from civilization, hidden by kilometers upon kilometers of forest. Melenor's point placement was perfect to watch the sunset or stargaze. The little country of Arus was a lively one. Though smaller than its neighbors, it was full of kind people and has a colorful history. The country has two major cities: Voltron City, formerly known as Altea, was located at the south. Known for its high mountains and beautiful beaches, the complete opposite of its northern counterpart; Daibazaal was a dry desert, seperated from Voltron City by the mountain range. But despite their differences, the north and south were united. They were far more technologically advanced, when compared to their neighbors. Surrounded by miles and miles of water in complete isolation, the Arusians have learned to survive and adapt to the environment around them. They were especially known for their use of astronomy and other celestial bodies, in their day to day life.

"Luis told me you like Astronomy, so I thought you'd like it here." Said the raven, taking a seat near the edge of the cliff, his legs dangling. The brunette followed suit, sitting cross-legged beside the other boy. "That kid can't seem to keep his mouth shut!" Lance exclaimed, while Keith chuckled. "Do you know that he once stole Veronica's glasses in order to give them to her crush? I have never seen Veronica look so embarassed and angry at the same time! The same happened with Rachel's five little love letters!"

The raven watched as the brunette's eyes sparkled, he had always had that proud and ecstatic look whenever he gets the chance to talk about his family. Lance had always been family-oriented, he would do anything for them. Keith can't relate to all that he was saying, but enjoyed seeing him talk about something he loves. Because whenever he does, he does this face. Where the corners of his eyes would crinkle, his eyes would brighten and a smile would find it's way on his lips. He imitates the faces he would've made in his stories, his hands would wave around when he explains.

Lance immediately stops talking, when he noticed the lack of responses from the other boy. "Hey, are you okay? Was I talking to much? I'm sorry if I ended up rambling, I—" The raven placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, before shaking his head. "It's fine, Lance. I was just thinking about something," he said. A mischievous smile began to form on the brunette face, before playfully pushing the other boy. "Or someone!—Oh! You're thinking about a girl, aren't ya?" Lance teased, while Keith rolled his eyes. Just as the raven was about to respond, something caught his attention.

Something around the other boy's neck. "Wait, what's that?" Keith gestured to the necklace with the weird rock pendant. "Oh, you mean this?" The brunette took off the accessory, letting the other boy have a better look. It just looked like a rock to an untrained eye, but Keith saw something more. There was a crack in the middle of the rock pendant and if the light hits it at just the right angle, one can see something shiny within it. "What's wrong?" Lance asked, watching as the raven took out a pocket knife.

"Look at this, Lance."

Keith showed what he saw, causing those blue eyes to widen. "What's in that?" The brunette asked, grabbing the pendant to examine it again. "I don't know, but if you want, we can find out." Keith looked once more at Lance, waiting for the latter's approval. The brunette nodded, he was as curious as the raven. He can deal with his father scolding him later, but right now he wants to see what's with that pendant. Keith used the tip of the knife to pry the rock open, while Lance watched. When it finally did, a piece of paper and a lion head was revealed. The brunette was quick to grab the paper, whichwas about to be blown away by the wind. While the raven examined the lion head and the stone, brows furrowed in confusion. "Shiro..." Keith quickly looked up, seeing the other holding the paper in hand.

Lance was quiet, staring blankly at the piece of paper. He felt something wet on his cheeks. Was he crying?

"Lance, are you okay?" Keith asked, reaching over to touch his shoulder. That's right, Keith was here. The brunette turned to the other's direction, before furrowing his brows. "Who's Shiro?" The raven shrugged, before returning the now-broken stone and lion head. "Uh, here. Sorry for breaking the stone though, but uhm, may I?" Keith helped the other put on the necklace, this time with the lion head pendant. Lance wiped his tears away, before grinning at Keith. "Thanks, mullet." The brunette stopped, when he noticed the other boy pointing upwards.

It was beautiful.

The sky was an inky black, the stars twinkled happily. The air around them was cold, from afar one could hear the sea. Lance smiled, before turning to Keith. But the raven didn't seem to notice the other's gaze on him. The brunette was enamored by the way the stars were reflected in Keith's purple eyes. It was almost as if his eyes held the entire universe. The nightingales' song could be heard, but Lance couldn't give a shit about them. He could stargaze every night at home. But for this night, all he could gaze at was the universe in the other boy's eyes.

* * *

 

The weekend quickly, Lance had taken the bus to school this time. When he arrived at school, he greeted the members of the Sincline Ships with his usual happy smile. In a span of a few months, he had gotten to know the girls. Zethrid Zaal was part of Altea High's football team, along with Keith. She knew how to play the drums and met Keith after he saved her girlfriend, Ezor, from getting hit by a truck. At first, Zethrid wasn't so thrilled about Lance. But after bonding over a documentary about female Russian snipers in WW2, she came to like the boy. Ezor Dalyak was the first one to start a conversation with Lance, after finding out that they trained under the same gymnastics teacher in third grade. He also met another member of the Sincline Ships, Narti Hoffman. She was quiet, but came to like Lance when he expressed his love for animals, especially cats. At first, one would think that the three girls could beat you up into a pulp. That's not a lie, they can if they wanted to. But if one gets to know the better, they're all actually pretty cool. So it came as a surprise to both Hunk and Pidge, when they found out that Lance had become acquaintances with the girls.

"They're like the most terrifying female-only gang in school!" Hunk exclaimed, almost cutting his finger with the knife he was holding. "They're not a gang, they're all part of Keith's band." Lance said, before taking a sip from his smoothie. School's done so they were currently at the mall, where Hunk worked part-time at Vrepit Sal's. "Remind me again, why do you work at Vrepit Sal's when you can work at your parents' restaurant?" Pidge asked, popping up beside Lance, seemingly out of nowhere. "What the fuck!" The taller brunette exclaimed, nearly dropping his smoothie in the process. Lance turned to his best friend, only to find that the boy was completely unfazed by the girl's sudden appearance. "Vrepit Sal's also belongs to my parents, Sal just didn't want the name to change." Pidge nodded, before turning around to watch mall goers do what they do. When she caught sight of three familiar girls. Quickly grabbing Lance by the arm, she pulled him behind a large potted plant. "What the fuck, Richard?" Lance asked, while the petite girl shushed him. "Now's not the time to be reciting vines, Lance. Listen," she said. The taller male furrowed his brows, but did what he was told.

"When do you think she'll confess?" Lance recognized the voice as Ezor's. From where he was, he coud see that Ezor, Zethrid, and Narti were together. "I don't know, but do you really think that it should be Acxa initiating it?" Zethrid asked, while Narti only stayed quiet. "Come on, Keith's Keith. The lone wolf, emo type. He's not gonna be saying anything, anytine soon! But have you seen the way he interacts with her! It's true love! They are meant to be!" Was the other girl's reply, causing her girlfriend to grunt in approval. "Well, if it's true love. Then it finds way, that's not wrong." Ezor squealed happily, clapping her hands together like a kid in a candy shop. "I'm sure Keith and Acxa will make cute babies together! It's so true love!"

Lance felt his world stop. His mind repeating the same words over and over again. They were right. The way those two interacted, as if they had this conncetion. They fit each other, complement each other. How could he not have noticed? Honestly, he did. He just didn't say anything about it. He didn't want to recognize those signs, because he was starting to—No, he shouldn't. Lance took Pidge away, back to Vrepit Sal's. The petite girl turned to him, her eyes full of concern. Lance grabbed the pendant, finding comfort in the feel and shape of the object.

"I have to go, guys. I'll text you later, bye."

And he left.

 

 

  
"Way to go, Paul."

Pidge turned around to see Hunk, who smiled sheepishly at her. "No, I'm talking about this Paul." He pointed towards his red headed coworker, who had broken a plate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year Everyone! I hope this chapter is okay! Thank you all for being patient with me and please!
> 
> Please don't feel shy to critic my work, because I also want to know how I can improve my writing skills. Please leave comment, because even if I don't reply I'm keeping all of your comments and messages in mind! Thank you all sooo much!


	17. Stoneheart

* * *

 

_"Keith..."_

_Heavy breathing, warm skin against warm skin. The air around them smelled of musk and the unmistakable scent of sex. The raven had his arms wrapped around the other, moaning as their movements began to speed up._

_"Ah! Keith!"_

_Keith could feel himself reaching his limit._

_Everything was warm. It felt right._

_This was how it was supposed to be._

_"Keith! Yes!"_

_Yes, his name. Say his name alone. The raven felt smug that he was the one making him feel this way. The other should be proud that he too makes Keith feel this way._

_"Keith... I'm close..."_

_The raven grunted, closing his eyes in concentration._

_"Me too..."_

_Their movements began more desperate. Desperate to reach the peak of pleasure. The peak and reward of their love._

_"Keith!"_

_The raven smirked, before quickly following his lover in orgasm._

_"Lance!"_

* * *

 

Keith woke up drenched in sweat. His alarm clock successfully doing its job of waking him up. Groaning, he quickly stopped it.

What did he dream about? 

Whatever it was, he recalled a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction. He checked his phone for the time. 

His eyes widened, before quickly standing up and beginning to prepare.

Today was the field trip thing to the museum. In all honesty, he didn't want to go. Field trips are a waste of time. But it beats sitting in a desk listening to old people drone on and on about useless stuff, that you'll rarely encounter in your day to day life.

* * *

 

Keith groaned as he navigated through the sea of students. "Remind me again, why did I attend?" He asked, turning to the petite brunette beside him. Pidge had her hand wrapped around his wrist tightly, like a child in the mall with their parent. "Because I held your precious motorbike hostage and threatened to disassemble it if you didn't," said the girl without any remorse. The raven groaned once more, glaring at no one in particular. "Not to mention, a certain someone who hasn't talked to you weeks is also attending this school function." Keith sighed, while Pidge continued to drag him around looking for their color group.

It was true. For some reason, Pidge managed to steal Red away from the building all the way to her house. Seemingly all by herself, since neither Hunk nor Matt had any idea that she had brought the bike there. Sometimes, Pidge can scare Keith. The girl may be small, but her spunky attitude and strength may come as a surprise to someone who hasn't known her for very long. And the other thing was that Lance hasn't talked to him in weeks, not that it's bothering Keith.

Well, it may be bothering him just a little. Only a little bit though.

He just couldn't understand why the brunette would push him away, after finally becoming close.

"Aha! There they are!" The raven found himself being pulled towards a large group of people. He scowled when he saw James Griffin with the group, surrounded by girls and boys alike. The boy shot him a cocky smirk, before pulling some random girl into a kiss. "Jokes on him, you're gay." Pidge cringed, when she saw Griffin's squeezing the random girl's butt.

Keith couldn't care less about the girl's statement and Griffin's antics, especially when he finally found the person he had been searching for. "Lance!" The raven called out, but the aforementioned had disappeared into the crowd before being able to hear it.

Pidge stared at Keith sadly, before shaking her head. She looked around, searching for her brother or Hunk, but instead she saw someone else. Her cheeks grew warm, when they turned to her and smiled. The brunette couldn't help but return the favor, adding a little wave.

"Alright, listen up!"

The two teens turned their attention to Mr. Iverson, before turning to give each other a look.

* * *

 

"...And this is a Colt 1911, which was widely used during World War 2. Donated by Sgt..." Lance stared at the glass boredly before turning his gaze towards the sign with the words 'Roman Empire Exhibit'. The brunette turned back to his group, only to see that they have left him. Shrugging, he made his way towards the exhibit.

Unbeknownst to him, a pair of eyes were watching him.

Lance scanned the different artifacts on display. Stone statues, vases, as well as weapons and armor. He stopped in front of a statue of a voluptous woman. He leaned down to read the description, "Venus, huh?"

The statue of the roman goddess had her right hand over her bare breast, the left covering her groin. The cloth that was supposed to be covering her body, pooled around her feet.

Lance was mesmerized by the statue, analyzing every curve and edge of the figure. It lacked certain details that would make it appear more human-like, but her face conveys such an emotion, that he almost feels like the statue with turn its head to look at him. Before reaching out and grabbing him, to replace her and become a motionless figure being ogled at by visitors.

"Lance," the brunette nearly jumped at the feeling of a hand on his shoulder. He turned to face the person, only to find himself drowning in purple. "Keith?"

The raven felt relieved when he finally found the brunette, although the the latter did not appear to be that pleased. Lance's gaze seemed to fall on everything except him. His lips were pressed tightly, his arms crossed over his chest. "What do you want, Keith?" The aforementioned boy furrowed his brows, unconsciously mirroring the brunette's action.

"You've been avoiding me," he said, "why?"

Lance knew this was going to happen, he swore he did. But what he didn't know was, how is he going to confront the situation. He could understand where Keith was coming from, the message that his actions have been conveying weren't exactly subtle.

Having no idea what else to do, the brunette did what he best knows to do.

"Why do you care?" Lance said defensively, his voice accidentally becoming a tad bit too harsh.

Regret washed over his face when those words left his mouth, especially seeing the look on Keith's face. He was quiet, eyes narrowed before shaking his head. "Keith..." The brunette said approachingly, he didn't mean to make it sound like that.

This situation was frustrating. Keith just can't understand why the sudden change in Lance's attitude, while the latter struggled with himself. "I just don't get it," the raven's kept his head down, "just a few weeks ago we were close. I can't understand you, Lance." Keith lifted his head, his arms crossed over his chest. The brunette bit his lip, him and his big mouth.

"Keith, look I—I'm sorry," said Lance. The other boy just stared at him, the emotion in his eyes indiscernible. "These past few weeks for me have been tough," the brunette hesitated, before continuing. "I thought that I could figure it out on my own, but boy, was I wrong." Lance laughed nervously, while Keith looked unimpressed. "Listen, Keith. I really don't know what to do or how to say stuff correctly, without people misinterpreting it—Hell, I just ramble on and on when I don't know how to do a conversation!" The raven raised a brow, as both boys unconsciously moved closer to each other. "Keith, I know that—"

"Excuse me, but can you take my picture?" Their conversation was interrupted by an old lady, who held a camera in his hands. The two boys nodded, before moving away to let the lady get into place. "Here you go, son." She gives the camera to Keith, who looks at Lance for help. The latter stifled a giggle, before gesturing for him to go on with it.

After getting her picture taken, the lady walked over to see her picture. "Thank you, young man. You see, my grandson has this project in school about Greco-Roman mythology. But he was too sick to come, so I decided to take pictures for him to use." Lance smiled brightly at the lady, while Keith just stood awkwardly as the lady looked through the pictures.

"You know, my grandson told me a story about this Venus. The one where Venus and Proserpina fell for Adonis, who ultimately spent his time with Venus until he was killed. A sad story, don't you think?"

Just as Lance was going to answer, his phone rang. Looking at the caller id, he excused himself befoe leaving.

Now, Keith was left alone with this old lady. He had never been good with people, he had always been a loner according to many people. "Well, your boyfriend seems nice."

The raven's eyes widened, he nearly choked on his own spit. "Uhm, I think you got it wrong, he's just my friend." The lady looked at him from top to bottom, before raising a brow and smiling. "Well, I'm sorry for assuming. But have you heard tha story of Venus and Adonis?" Keith nodded, who hasn't?

The story of a love struck goddess falling for a child born of incest, classic mythology. It's not a story if it doesn't have any murder, incest, or sex. The lady smiled sweetly at him, before turning her gaze towards the statue. Her dark brown eyes glazed over with an almost nostalgic look. "Do you think Venus truly loved Adonis?"

Keith thought for a while. In all honesty, he didn't actually care about those discussions about Venus and Adonis' love story. He was most definitely asleep during those times.

"No, she definitely just lusted after him. After all, Venus only knows how to make love, not love."

The old lady seemed surprised to hear his answer, but smiled nonetheless. "You may be right, after all, we can never know what goes on inside the gods' heads when they do stupid shit." The lady said with hesitation, the smile on her face never faltering. "I have another question to ask you," said the woman once more, "do like that boy from earlier?"

Keith usually doesn't randomly give information about himself to some stranger he just met, but at the moment—especially after what Lance has put him through for the past few weeks, he doesn't care anymore. Looking the woman straight in the eye, without hesitation, he answered.

"Yes, yes I do."

The old woman smiled softly at him, before speaking once more. "Why don't you confess?" She asked, as Keith felt as if the statue's gaze was on him. But just before he could reply, Acxa came running towards him. And before he had time to process what was happening, he felt her press her lips against his own.

Keith's eyes widened, as he struggled to understand what was happening. In the corner of his eyes, he could see Lance staring at them, clearly shocked. When Acxa finally pulled away, she grabbed his hands in her own, before saying. "Keith, I love you. I've been so since I first heard you sing, please be my boyfriend." The raven furrowed his brows at her, before turning his gaze to where Lance was standing. But he was gone.

Keith turned his gaze back to Acxa, placing his hands on her shoulders, keeping a distance between them. "Ace, I don't like you that way. And plus, I don't swing that way. I'm gay, remember?" The girl furrowed her brows, removing his hands from her shoulders. "I thought... I thought that you were Bi..." She whispered, letting her hair cover her face. The raven loved her, loved her like a sister. An idol. A friend. He would be damned if he saw her hurt by some girl or guy, but he never expected that one day it would him to hurt her like this. "Acxa, I'm sorry. But I like someone else—please, can we talk about this later?" It took a few minutes before she looked up at him, and when she did, she gave him a pained smile.

Tears were falling from her cheeks, leaving wet tracks. The corners of her mouth twitched, as she forced herself to continue smiling through the pain. "Of course we can, after all, I didn't think any of this through anyway. We can talk later, how about that?" Keith nodded, before watching Acxa run away. From he was standing, he could see that she met up with Zethrid and Ezor, who were comforting her. Zethrid threw a glare his direction, while Ezor shook her head at him. He didn't mean to hurt her, but it wasn't his fault that he fell for him either. Keith shook his head, reminding himself of what's really important. Lance.

* * *

 

Lance had gotten a call from Rachel, telling him that she's going to surprise their parents by coming home early for Christmas. She had missed Thanksgiving about two weeks ago, which really bummed them out. "So when's yout flight back home?" He asked, unable to contain the excitement in his voice. Rachel giggled, before answering. "That's secret, I want to surprise you as well." She said, the joy evident in her voice. Lance pouted, crossing his arms over his chest, as if she could see him. "Then why tell me your coming home early, if you're not gonna tell exactly when?" Rachel laughed loudly, before answering once more. "Seriously, Lance, I can see you pouting from here. You know I can't hide anything from my almost twin-but-not-quite-brother, so I just gave you a heads up." After bidding her goodbye, the boy was eager to return to see what Keith and the old lady had been doing. After all, the raven wasn't that good with old people. And Lance was eager to finally talk to Keith, especially since he was planning to confess to him right there under the gaze of the goddess of love herself.

In the past couple of weeks, he struggled to get over his jealousy and feelings. He tried to make himself believe that he didn't actually like Keith, that he was just crazy. But after talking to both Veronica and Rachel, they told him that the only way to find out, is to tell Keith. If you thought that was a stupidly crazy suggestion, you're not alone. But if it wasn't for their conversation last night, he wouldn't have talked to Keith today. Though he wasn't planning to make it hard to talk to Keith, it's just his stupid feelings and mouth refuse to cooperate.

* * *

 

" _Why would you guys even suggest that!? If he ends up being straight, then FO!" Lance recalled exclaiming at his sisters, while video chatting one night._

_"Well, that only proves one thing. You're friendship isn't worth it," said Rachel, munching on some chips while listening to her brother's crisis. "And plus, didn't you already established a sort of temporary FO when you ignored him after your supposed 'bonding moment'?" Lance sighed, before burying his face in his pillow._

_"Lance, you've already admitted that you're jealous of this Acxa girl, doesn't that already prove something?" She added, while Veronica just watched the exchange. "Well, it could be platonic jealousy!" He argued, nearly spilling his soda all over the bed._

_"Lance, you've been crushing on Keith, ever since the time he punched James Griffin in the face, for insulting you." Veronica finally said, while Rachel nodded in agreement. "First of all, he punched him, I kicked him. It was a team effort," he commented. "Oh yeah, I remembered that! You swooned," added Rachel. The eldest sister ignored the comment, and continued to explain. "Not to mention, you started the entire rivalry thing just get an excuse to be closer to him. You challenged him to a wrestling match and lost purposely, for the sake of having his arms around you." Lance gasped, dramatically placed a hand on his chest. "I'd have you know, that I only lost because Marco had already tired me out from arm wrestling the night before!" Both McClain girls raised a brow, exchanging virtual looks._

_"What is Keith's top three favorite colors?" Rachel asked, her face lacking any emotion._

_"Red, Black, And Blue."_

_"What shade of Purple are his eyes?"_

_"Something between a Vesper Violet and Blueberry Popover. Although his eyes used to be a more brighter shade, when we were kids."_

_"What's his favorite school subject?"_

_"Gym class, despite Iverson being the teacher."_

_"And how do you know all these things about him again?"_

_"Well, I—" Lance's eyes widened, while the two girls simply smiled. "Lance, what do you feel for Keith?" Veronica asked, watching her brother's face._

_Lance had always admired and hated Keith. He admired that he was capable of scoring the highest in all exams, yet hated that he had gotten a higher score than Lance. He loathed the way all the girls would look at him like the last garlic knot, because he couldn't openly pine over Keith without getting teased or nistaken as bad talking the guy. But what Lance hates the most, was when the raven brought him to Melenor's Point and gave discovered the secret of his dad's necklace. Because that was the time, Lance truly felt something change about his perspective on Keith. For that was the time, he felt like he could truly trust the raven. He had never been so open and vulnerable around him before. They talked about so many things about themselves. Got to know each other. As if meeting each other for the first time._

_"Oh my God, I like Keith..."_

* * *

 

After the conversation between him and Rachel, Lance was mentally preparing himself to confess to Keith. He doesn't care if the raven would reject him or not, the confession would be for Lance not him.

But when he got there, the first thing he saw was Acxa kissing Keith. He could hear something ringing in his ears, as his entire body went numb. He couldn't help but watch her lips move against his with so much passion. If he were to do that, many people would've frowned upon that action, some would've insulted him. Hell, Keith would've pushed him away.

"And this is a painting of Echo and Narcissus, painted in the year..." He could hear the tour guide explain to the group of students the history and myth of the painting. But Lance couldn't care less.

Everything felt numb, so he ran away. He couldn't get the sight of Acxa kissing Keith out of his head.

"True love!" He remembered Zethrid and Ezor say, as they continued to talk about Keith and Acxa having babies.

He ran away, letting his legs carry him to wherever it pleases.

"Lance!"

He heard Keith call him from afar, but he just covered his ears, feeling the pain spread all over. Lance continued to run, till he bumped into someone. "Lance! What's wrong?" Shay.

He bumped into Shay, who stared at him in concern. "Shay, where's Hunk?" He asked, fighting the tears in his eyes. The girl shook her head, before yelping when Lance pulled her into the crowd. "Hide me from Keith, please." Lance begged, his blue eyes filled with tears. Shay furrowed her brows, as she looked to see Keith making his way towards them. "But why?" She asked, but Lance only shook. "I—Okay, okay. I don't know where Hunk is, but Pidge is in the bathroom. Go wait for her there, I'll distract Keith." Lance thanked her, before running to find Pidge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Edjwjrhdksmfowbds[w"  
> –weirdodobird_Raven18 (2019)
> 
> Hey, what's up guys! So I am back! I'll have to apologize since, this chapter was supposed to be published a week earlier, but school decided to yeet a ton of work for me to do. 
> 
> Also I joined the Instand Fiction contest for our English Festival this month, so I'm trying my best to prepare for the contest next week. 
> 
> I hope ya'll are having a great day, night, week, month, year, and life!
> 
> I would also like to make a quick shoutout to Okami_Senpai! Thank you for never failing to make me smile with your comments, I hope u have a great year!


	18. Feelings

 

* * *

Pidge exited the restroom, having nothing in mind. Well, she does have something in mind. More like someone in mind, but who cares?

Oh why she even bother—she cares! She doesn't understand any of this! There's a reason why she wants to major in Robotics and not in Psychology. Humans aren't like machines, which you can open up, understand, and fix using a few calculations and tools. Humans are living breathing creatures, composed of organic materials and chemicals and whatnot. They experience a wide range of emotions and thoughts, unlike robots which are capable of doing things you program them to do. You can't just understand everything about humans by opening them up. Like other living creatures, you observe them and immerse yourself. Her train of thought was halted, when she saw Lance hiding behind a large pot of plants. "Lance? What are you doing there?" The Cuban boy looked up at her, his expression blank. Pigde walked over, helping the boy to his feet. The brunet struggled, before leaning his back against the wall. "What happened?" She asked once more, studying her friend. Lance buried his face in his hands, before breathing out a sigh. "Pidge, why are feelings so complicated?" He asked, slowly removing his hands from his face. The brunette grimaced, trying to find the right words to say. Should she ask him what's wrong? Should she comfort him? Should she answer his question? But before she could respond, he spoke once more. "I know you don't know what to say, it's fine. But can you be willing to lend an ear?" Lance had finally turned to meet her gaze, boy does he look awful. His hair stuck to his forehead, his face covered in sweat and oil. His lower lip quivering, eyes red with obvious tear tracks on his cheeks.

After about 15 minutes of listening to Lance talk about his feelings towards Keith, Pidge finally decided to say something. "I feel you, dude. Feelings are fucking weird," she said. They sat in silence for a few moments, before Pidge spoke once again. "Lance," she said. The aforementioned looked at her, brows furrowed. "What's wrong?" He asked, hoping she was alright. Pidge took a deep breath in, before speaking. "Because we were talking about feelings; how did you find out you were attracted to both genders? What does it feel?"

Lance thought for a while. "It's hard to explain for me, since I'm also kind of finding myself. But as for how I find out; I've always known, to be honest. I just didn't recogzined it till James..." The last part was whispered, Lance looking off into the distance. Pidge knew about James, in fact, the entire school knows about what happened. It was during Iverson's class, when James and Lance were caught making out in the locker room while changing. Lance was still confused about his sexuality back then and was an idiot, so he decided to try out and kiss James. Boy, did that go wrong.

Not only did Lance realized he was bisexual, but after finally understanding who he was, he was almost immediately shamed for it. James went on about Lance forcing himself on him and other bullshit, but was dismissed by the majority of the student body. Everyone knew about the guy being a pathological liar, so it wasn't really a big deal. But the fact that Lance was almost immediately shamed, took a toll on the brunet. Pidge recalled how the boy refused to go to school in fear of being bullied and the when he finally did go back to school, he was thinner than before.

His cheeks were swollen, his eyes blank. He looked like a reanimated corpse. Hunk made sure to bring Lance food everyday for the next three months, while Pidge made sure he was doing his school work and having fun. James didn't get punished, but was shunned by everyone in school. It remains a mystery to Pidge, how or what convinced Lance to back to school.

"But what's wrong, Katie? You usually don't acknowledge feelings," the Cuban boy pointed out. Pidge rubbed her face, before replying. "Don't laugh at me if I tell you, it's serious." Lance nodded, while Pidge took a deep breath in. "I... I think I like someone... Romantically..."

It took a while for Lance to process the words. Pidge, the gremlin incapable of feeling human emotions, likes romantically likes someone. The petite girl waited for the taller boy's response, her gaze never leaving the ground. "And what's wrong with that?" Pidge took a deep breath, running her fingers through her hair. "I don't know, it's just—it's weird! I'm confused about what to feel or how to react to feeling! I'm not the type to think about what I feel for too long, because emotions are a problem that can't be solved easily with the use of numbers and complex mathematical solutions..."

Pidge felt a lump beginning to form in her throat, as she remembers the last time she tried to figure out what she feels. The sound of her mother crying in the living room, while the TV was turned on to a news report about an accident. Her eyes began to water, it was getting harder to breathe now. Her dad and Matt were on that plane, if she hadn't made an error with the weather patterns the maybe they wouldn't have...

"Pidge," she felt Lance press her head against his chest. The action made her tear up some more, before finally crying her heart out. Emotions are not easy to understand. But it's a unique trait that humans possess, that helps differentiate them from other earthly beings. "Lance, I'm scared," she finally said, "I'm scared of myself and what I feel, because the last time I felt something this... Strong, I almost lost my dad and my brother."

She was in charge of watching out for any irregularities in the weather patterns, so that they could figure out when was the best day for them to leave for Switzerland. She had missed a slight jump in the temperature's in the Atlantic and told her father that it was green, but boy was she wrong. Pidge took in a deep breath, before sighing. "I know there's nothing to be afraid of and that it's all in my head, but I just—it's like, there's an invisible—" The brunette allowed the cool breeze passing by to calm her down, taking in the refreshing air. "—Like I know that I can do one thing without everyone reacting negatively, but there's a something that prevents me from doing so. Know what I mean?"

Lance completely understands. He knows what it feels like to be in her situation. To feel an invisible force that keeps him from doing something he loves, pulling him away and trying to drown him. To feel guilt clawing its way from his stomach and to his throat, leaving him with an ache. Feelings truly are weird.

* * *

A few weeks have passed and once more, Lance has been ignoring Keith, although the latter gave up trying to communicate with him after a week. It actually hurt Lance that Keith would give up easily, he didn't put up a fight. Maybe he truly was nothing to the raven?

He had also begun to make more frequent visits to the Home for Elderly, occasionally dragging Shay, Hunk, or Pidge with him to volunteer.

Today, his latest victim is Pidge. Who Lance managed to convince, after promising to give her a jar of his mama's homemade peanut butter. His mama's peanut butter is so heavenly, that Pidge would probably be willing to smash her latest project with a sledgehammer if promised to be given an entire years worth of peanut butter. Although what Pidge wouldn't know, is that he'd be giving her the crunchy peanut butter.

Lance is well-aware of the petite girl's dislike of peanuts nd decided to see what it would be like, to see Pidge munch on a combination of the two things she both loves and despises. But that was for another time, at the moment, he had to keep Pidge from hitting an old lady in the head.

"—Calm down, Pidgeon. Francine is old, how was she supposed to know that Tumblr is not Facebook." Pidge honestly looked so pissed right now, her face red and lips in a scowl. "Tumblr has a T while Facebook has an F, not to mention the're two different shades of blue!" As much as Lance would want to laugh at the petite girl, he doesn't want to risk being a witness to a murder of an old lady at the hands of an angry gremlin. It was kind of funny how Pidge is the one whose patience is wearing thin, it felt like it was only yesterday when he had to keep Keith from screaming at an old man. "Katie, remind me again why you were asking the poor lady to open Tumblr?" Pidge visibly became upset before answering, taking a seayt on one of the empty rocking chairs. "We're having this thing at home, where the first one to be caught using the WiFi at home would order take out for everyone." Lance raised a brow, as he cleaned up the spilled juice on the table. "Well, aren't you technically forfeiting?" The petite girl smiled dubiously and that was the moment the Cuban boy realized that he was officially terrified of Pidge. She began to explain about loopholes in the agreement, that made sure that everything will turn out in her favor. "May I ask, but who decided to start this challenge?" asked the brunet, who took a seat on one of the empty chairs beside her. "I did," she answered simply.

Lance wanted to hit himself in the head with a guitar.

"Oh, hello Lance." The brunet turned to see Mr. Prince walking up to him, a red book in hand. "Good afternoon, Mr. Prince! I see that you're going about your daily reading," Mr. Prince smiled at him. Pidge furrowed her brows as she watched them converse, something felt off. The way Mr. Prince smiled at Lance didn't feel right, his body language was telling something very different from what he says. His gaze towards the Cuban boy was...different, not necessarily bad nor good. It makes her feel wary of this man. "Mr. Prince, this is Pidge, my friend." Mr. Prince's gaze turned towards her direction, his eyes wandering up and down her body. He held out his free hand, as Pidge politely shook it. He smiled at her. But it didn't feel right. His every movement and expression felt as though it were rehearsed or being controlled by another.

Following a few hours of helping Ms. Luxia and the others with the seniors, it was time for them to go home. Pidge had decided to stop by his house, so that she could use the WiFi one last time before going home. To Lance's surprise, his dad was there, home earlier than usual.

"Papa, what's wrong?" Lance asked, after seeing his dad looking a tad bit worried. "Oh it's nothing son, it's just that I haven't seen you and Keith together in a while. Is everything okay between you two?"

Pidge watched the exchange between father and son, brows furrowed as to why Mr. McClain would care about Keith and Lance being together. After that, they both went upstairs to Lance's room to play some video games. "Hey, Lance. Why would your dad care about your relationship with Keith?" Pidge asked, curiosity taking over her. The taller boy only continued to play, as he replied nonchalantly. "He and I are engaged," he said. The petite girl immediately paused the game, before turning to face him. "What?"

She was expecting Lance to admit that he was joking, but he didn't. "Seriously?" The blue-eyed boy nodded, before reaching to continue the game. "Hold up, McClain. I need to know more about this and why you haven't told us yet!" Lance only sighed, before turnjng to face her. "I'm gonna make this quick, cuz I'm itching to beat that level already."

Pidge listened carefully to everything that he said. From how their families inspired Romeo and Juliet, to the part where those who were supposed to be wed die mysteriously. "Wait," she held up a hand to stop Lance from talking. "So your parents just decided to marry you two to each other with the high probability of death?" Lance shrugged, before popping a grape in his mouth. "Yeah, pretty much."

They continued to play, but Pidge couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that her two friends were betrothed to each other. More questions arised. But she doubts that Lance can answer them. Something doesn't feel right at all, nothing feels right. Lance had told her how both he and Keith opposed the engagement, they still are trying to convince their parents to break it off, but they refuse to. But from how Mr. McClain reacted earlier and talked about it with Lance, it feels as though he's only being forced to do so.

They're hiding something, Pidge knows it. And she's gonna find out what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm finally back! Exams are finally over and I'm ALMOST free a little bit more.
> 
> Yeah....
> 
> Sorry for the shitty chapter. I'll try my best to post a special chapter for Valentine's!
> 
> Thanks for all ur support u guys! I actually won 2nd place in a writing competition in school. I wouldn't have gotten the confidence to join, if I hadn't received this much attention for writing this.
> 
> Plz don't be afraid to leave a comment and critique my work, I'm willing to change a few things in order to learn!
> 
> Till next time!


	19. Tarts and Family

 

* * *

Hunk had been told by his parents to deliver this box of pasteries to the Koganes. He smiled when he caught a whiff of the sweet tarts only his mom could make with perfection, a Garrett family signature. It smells like the sea in front of his grandma's house. Her warm hugs and happy smile. It smells like the sweet local candies his cousin's children love to munch on, who'll give him a bright smile. It smells like home.

Hunk misses them all. He can't wait for summer. Only a few more months left and he'll be back home in Samoa.

When the elevator doors opened, Hunk was snapped out of his thoughts. He made his way to the Koganes apartment, but before he could knock, there was a crash. A sound of something breaking.

"—Let me go! I'm capable of caring for myself!"

"Keith, son—"

"Don't fucking call me that! You left me, both of you! You don't deserve to call me thay, when you haven't treated like one!"

"Akira Kogane! Stop this at once, all this screaming will get you nothing! And you know damn well why we left! It was to pro—"

"It was to protect me, right?! Bullshit, mom! Both of you did your part as a soldier and firefighter! But did you ever did your part as parents? No!"

There was no response this time. The silence was deafening.

"I'm leaving," with that statement, the door swung open.

Hunk stood outside, a blush on his face. He was not meant to hear any of that. It was personal, yet here he was. Then again, they didn't think that their voices would be loud enough to be heard.

Keith brushed passed him, while Mrs. Kogane came over to greet him. "Good morning, Hunk. Are those the pasteries we ordered the other day?" Hunk only nodded, watching as the woman tried to keep herself from breaking down in front of him. Her eyes were red and puffy, there were obvious tear tracks on her cheeks. Mr. Kogane on the other hand, only sat down on the couch. He had his face his hands, crying.

After Mrs. Kogane paid, Hunk hurriedly left. He wasn't sure about what to do next. On one hand, he should go back to the resto and help his parents. On the other hand, he should find Keith and try to talk to him. Being too deep in his thoughts, Hunk didn't notice the motorcycle that almost ran him over.

Yelping, he jumped out of the way. He recognized the bike as Keith's, it seemed that Pidge gave it back. It still baffles him, how she managed to get the bike from Keith's apartment to her house, the world may never know.

"Keith?" The rider only grunted, before preparing to leave. Hunk furrowed his brows and did what any sane person in movies would do, jump in front of the vehicle. Of course, Keith could've just circle around him, but he didn't. They had this silent conversation, before Keith passed Hunk a spare helmet.

* * *

The ride to the abandoned school park was quiet, yet so was the first 5 minutes they were there. Hunk had his gaze on the ground, while Keith leaned back and sighed. "How much of that did you hear?" The raven was the one to break the silence, taking his companion by surprise. "Uh, well. Not that much," he said. Keith raised a brow, crossing his arms over his chest. Hunk sighed, before telling him what he had heard.

Another moment of silence passed them, the tension in the air was thick. Hunk decided to grow a pair and ask, turning his gaze towards Keith. "Is it okay if I ask about what happened?" The raven stayed quiet, his face devoid of emotion.

Hunk had never been that close to Keith before. Sure they'd hung out and talked, but they've never had a kind of friendship similar that of his and Lance's or Pidge and Keith's. But despite that, Hunk still cares. Keith's a buddy regardless of anything. But he does hope that Keith thinks the same.

The raven sighs, before burying his face in his hands. A habit he and his dad seem to share. "Hunk, have you ever—I don't know, been left by the very people you were supposed to trust?" Hunk grimaced, before answering. "Well, yeah. I mean, everyone has." He could remember numerous times, when people who he trusts and loves leave him. He remembered the pain, the shallow empty feeling in his chest. As if his heart had been taken and he was left with an empty hole in his chest.

Keith shook his head, before sighing. Hunk felt as though he said the wrong thing. He placed a hand on the raven's shoulder, who winced at the touch before relaxing. "Keith, if you feel okay with it; why don't you tell me what happened? I'm willing to lend an ear and open my heart and mind," he said. "I know we may not be that close and stuff, but you're still my friend. And I care for you," Hunk added.

A gentle breeze passed by, as Hunk patiently waited for Keith. The raven stayed quiet, debating whether or not to tell Hunk.

If he were to tell Hunk, would he make fun of him? Tell him things he'd already heard from his parents? From his teachers and classmates? From his nannies and tutors? It was all too much, that it was hurting Keith's head.

Fuck it.

"My parents aren't the most 'I was there when this thing happened' parents. They were more of a 'they sent me a picture and I'm sorry I couldn't come' kind." The pause felt heavy, Keith needed to keep himself composed. "They weren't there for the majority of my childhood and all I had was my," Keith choked back the tears before breathing out, "–my uncle..."

The raven took a breath in, trying to keep himself composed. "He was the only one to care for me, but he—" Not needing any more explanation, Hunk placed an arm over Keith's shoulder, before squeezing. No wonder the raven acted the way he did, he already lost the one person who was willing to show how much he cared.

With that simple act, Keith began to lose all composure. He went limp against the other boy, before silently letting the teardrops fall. For once, Keith felt liberated. He felt as if all the weight on his shoulders disappeared. After so many years, he felt cared for. He felt like he mattered. Is this what friendships feel like?

Hunk listened carefully, as Keith told him everything. From his parents career-driven youth to his mom's unplanned pregnancy. "I always felt like my mom and dad silently resented me for existing, since I was the thing that kept them from achieving more in life."

The raven gave a humorless laugh, running his fingers through his hair. "What a thought, don't you think Hunk? Me not existing? Life would be so much easier for a lot of people," said Keith. Hunk only shook his head, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "That's not true, buddy. Don't say things like that," Hunk took a breath in. "If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's that dwelling on the what if's and what not's of the past will keep you from moving on with your life."

Keith was quiet, he's never thought about like that. Was he really stuck in the past? Obviously, he is. To be honest, he's never gotten closure with Uncle Thace's death. God, he's still stuck in the depression stage of grief. "But I can't blame you, while at the same time I can't side with you."

"You refused to ask for help, but then again, the only person you thought you can rely on was gone." Hunk sighed, before meeting Keith's gaze. "But that's not true, Keith. If you think the world is against you, the universe has your back." The raven smiled, before wrapping his arms around the huggable man.

Hunk froze at the action, but returned it.

They continued to talk. After 45 minutes of a non-stop exchange of stories—Keith is suprisingly talkative when it came to his uncle, his dog, motorbikes, and his knife collection—Hunk began to talk about their summer vacations to Samoa to visit his grandparents. This was when the raven went quiet.

"How about you guys? What do you usually do during summer break?" Keith had a small smile on his face, recalling the many happy days behind him.

When Uncle Thace was alive, he used to encourage his mom to visit her parents back home in Korea. His grandparents live in the country side, which was far different from their fast-paced lifestyle in the city.

They'd spend their days laughing and exchanging stories, while their nights were spent drinking, singing, and stargazing. As much as they love it, Keith doesn't get why his mom doesn't want to go to Korea.

He has reason to believe, that it was because his dad is half-Japanese. From what he knows, his grandfather was part of the army in WW2. And if he had his history correct, Korean soldiers didn't exactly get the best treatment in the world. Although, he has no idea why his grandma isn't that against her dad though. Or maybe Keith was too oblivious to ever notice her reactions.

Hunk noticed the nostalgic look on his friends face, as well as the sad smile forming on his face. But just as he was about to apologize for asking about such a sensitive topic, Keith beat him to it.

"Hunk, it's fine. It's just been a while, since we last left for summer. But anyway, we used to go to Korea for a month and stay with my grandparents. Uncle Thace was the one that told mom to visit, since he was like her brother and her parents already treated him like their son." Keith remembered when his mom got Uncle Thace to come along with them and how his grandparents began to introduce him as their 'third son', which led to a lot of people believing Uncle Thace to be his grandpa's son with another woman.

He could never forget the image of his mom's laughing face, when this lady went up to his grandma and started asking if she were aware of her husband's infidelity. Keith had never seen his mom laugh out so loud and look so gleeful, since he was used to her being almost emotionless most of the time.

"But, after Uncle Thace's death, we rarely go there anymore. So I tend to spend my summers just hanging out and touring with Acxa and the band, since not only is it quick cash but I also enjoy performing." Hunk smiled, he was happy that Keith was able to find another band. Although, he hasn't stopped playing the drums though. He just began to focus on his studies more. "Then what about your parents?" Hunk asked, watching as the other simpky shrugged in reply.

"My dad doesn't really have a stable schedule and mom is usually working during the summer, so yeah." Keith doesn't mind it, but he would be lying if he said he doesn't long for the days when they would go to Korea. But those days are gone.

There was a moment of silence between them for a while, before Hunk broke it. "Keith, when was the last time you and parents had a conversation?" He wasn't sure whether he was crossing a line, but his curiosity gets the better of him.

'Well, an hour ago—" Keith's humorous statement was cut off, when Hunk gave him a look. The raven sighed, before running his fingers through his hair. "Never."

Hunk frowned, before beginning to tell Keith about the importance of proper communication.

After another 30 minutes, the sun was beginning to set. "Well, I better get going." Hunk stood up and brushed himself off, before eventually helping Keith up his feet. The latter sighed, before his fingers through his hair. "How do you guys make it so easy to communicate?" He asked, arms crossed over his chest.

Hunk looked back at him, before shrugging. "I don't know, actually. Maybe because I just spend so much time with Lance, that I got his habit of rambling and never stopping." Keith flinched slightly at the mention of that name, bowing his head. Hunk noticed it, before placing a hand on his shoulder.

He's been told multiple times about what happened in the museum. All from different people, but only one thing remained the same; Acxa kissed Keith in front of Lance, who then ran away and refused to speak tothe raven.

"You'll figure something out, dude. I know it," he said with a kind smile. Keith felt a tug on his lips, before returning the favor. They bid each other farewell, before leaving.

* * *

Keith sighed as he stared at the wooden door in front of him. Two pairs of shoes lay beside it, as the smell of dinner being cooked seeped out from under the door. He could do this, he's always been impulsive. The type of person to start doing shit, without thinking about it beforehand.

Sure, it had gotten him in trouble many times now. But he also got in good favors of certain people, although not often.

Finally deciding to grow a pair, he opened the door. Kicking off his shoes and placing them neatly on the shoe rack with only one empty spot, he made his way to the kitchen. He was greeted by the sight of his dad cooking dinner, humming and swaying along to some country song on the radio.

"Dad," Keith whispered. The man in question turned his back to look at him. Keith keep his head bowed, before feeling a pair of strong arms wrap around him. "Hey, son. You're finally back," the taller man whispered. Keith felt something wash over him, he's never felt this before. Sure, his dad would often embrace him. But never like this. He's never felt this safe, in someone's embrace.

"Keith?" They pulled away, and that's when the aforementioned realized he was crying. God, what was happening to him?

Choking back a sob, the raven wiped his eyes before speaking. "I'm sorry, dad. For everything I've ever done," he said. "I've been a little shit to you guys ever since and I've never even considered what it was like for you and mom, I'm sorry."

The older man was taken aback, before wrapping his son in another hug. "Hey, it's okay, buddy. We, as your parents, also had our shortcomings. You were right, son. We weren't always there for you, and you have every right to be mad. And for that, I'm sorry as well."

The heartwarming moment was cut off, when Yorak happily made his way to Keith. Kneeling, the raven greeted the dog with as much enthusiasm. "Honey?"

A new figure entered the room, as Keith stood up. His mom stayed by the hallway, a bit surprised at the sight of her son. There was a moment of tension, before Keith ran into his mother's arms.

They've never been an affectionate family, only exchanging nods and the occasional hug, courtesy of his dad. "Mom, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything, I was dumb and insensitive. You guys tried your best to make it up to me, but all I did was push you away. I'm so sorry if I were the reason you and dad couldn't achieve more in life."

Krolia Kogane was shocked, before returning the hug. "It's okay, Keith. But listen to me," she pulled away and looked into her son's eyes, "you will, and have always been, the biggest achievement we have ever gotten. Sure, we could've done more with our careers, but no. Because going on with our careers, would mean leaving the best gift in the world. And that's you, Keith."

For the first time in a very long time, they all hugged. Keith felt a smile tug on his lips. He was safe. He was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, for my absence. 
> 
> I've been sick for a while, but not to worry. 
> 
> I'll try to update more, but I can't make any promises. 
> 
> Exams are coming up and a lot schoolwork is piling up on me. 
> 
> Thanks again for the support! Baiiii


	20. Mild Concussions and Prophecies

* * *

It was a lovely day, the crisp autumn air was becoming more and more cold by each passing day. That's why Lance found himself under more and more layers of clothing. At the moment, he was wearing a shirt under a turtleneck, which in turn was under a thick jacket. And yet, he was still feeling chilly.

"You're that cold, Lance?" Hunk asked, placing the plate of garlic knots on the table. Lance sniffed before rubbing his nose and nodding. "I think you're getting sick, dude. You should've stayed home," he added. Pidge only shook her head, before sneakily stealing away a garlic knot.

"Hey! That's mine!" Lance exclaimed, glaring at the petite girl as she took a bite. "And I thought you didn't like garlic knots?" Pidge shrugged, taking another bite before speaking. "Hwunk'sch rwighch chyu shoulshve schtayed chome," she said. Lance cringed, while Hunk shook his head from behind the counter. "Table manners, Katie!"

Hunk called out, before taking a customer's order. Today, they were hanging at the Garrett's restaurant. It was simple, nothing too fancy. It gives off an beach vibe with all the seashells and fishing net decorations on the wall, hanging next to numerous pictures of three generations of Garretts. From Hunk's grandparents to him, his siblings and his cousins. The food was absolutely delicious and tastes like home and love.

The place was always packed. That's why when Mr. and Mrs. Garrett managed to save up, they decided to open up a second location. And another one and so on and so forth, till they had about five different locations all over Arus. The one in Voltron city is the main branch and is where Hunk and his parents can often be found at. The one in the Province of Altea, is where Hunk's older brother and sister manage.

It was amazing where hardwork and dedication could take you. Lance has always loved that about Hunk and his family. Despite the large amounts of money they get everyday from their restaurants, they never let that get to their heads. They stayed humble, kind, and generous. The only reason they actually wanted to have a restaurant was to share to the world what traditional homemade Samoan food is like, of course along with African dishes that only Mr. Garrett could do right.

Pidge swallowed, before speaking once more. "Seriously, Lance. Go home, call Mr. Manuel to pick you up and bring you home." Lance groaned as another wave of nausea hits him like a passing truck, banging his head on the table. Pidge clicks her tongue, before taking the brunet's phone and quickly texts Mr. Manuel to pick him up. "Pidgeon, if I didn't feel like Jessica Rabbit's bigger-than-life-itself boobs aren't on me, I would've angrily questioned you as to why you know my my phone's passcode." Pidge slid the phone back to Lance, who pocketed it before going back to his earlier position.

"First of all, shouldn't you feel proud that Jessica Rabbit's tits are on you? And secondly, even if you did, I still wouldn't have told you." Lance groaned, before answering. "Just imagine how much back pain she has from the weight of those, she must be suffering through hell. Plus, those would probably suffocate you before you could enjoy it. Not to mention, it's wrong to take pleasure from someone else's pain and isn't Jessica Rabbit asexual?" Hunk only shook his head as he listened to his friends' conversation. Those two always find themselves talking about the weirdest stuff.

Suddenly, Lance's phone rang. The brunet squinted as he read the text, before slumping back. "He said he'll be here in a few minutes and asked if I need help, Pidgey you reply." The petite girl quickly snatched the phone and began to type a response, before handing it back after receiving a response. "I told him yes you do, because I don't think you can last taking five steps out of here."

Hunk walked back to their table to take the now empty plate of garlic knots, thanks to Pidge. "I don't need help, I can walk fine." Lance argued, shakily trying to stand up, but to no avail. Pidge shook her head, before taking a sip from her drink. Hunk came back to their table and placed a glass of water for Lance, who is now looking very pale.

"Maybe you're right," Lance sat up and drank the water down in one gulp, while Hunk placed a hand on his forehead and neck to check his temperature. "Lance, you're burning up!" After that statement, the brunet began to cough. What had Lance been doing? His face was pale, his temperature was high. His lips were chapped and the sweat had his hair sticking to his forehead. Overall, he looked horrible.

Fortunately, a familiar car stopped in front of the resto. Mr. Manuel hurriedly exited the car, his graying hair glowing White in the sunlight. He opened the door with a ring from the little bell overhead. He scanned the room for a while, before his gaze rested on the a sickly looking Lance.

"Sir Lance!" Mr. Manuel exclaimed, hurriedly moving to check on Lance. He looked towards Pidge and Hunk, before nodding. "Thank you, Ms. Pidge, Mr. Hunk. I'll be taking him home now," with that statement they left.

Almost a moment after they watched the black car leave, Keith entered the resto. "Was that the McClains' car?" He asked, as he took a seat next to Pidge who was muching on a tart. "Yep, you just missed Lance. He had to go home, he had a fever." Hunk walked back, a pad and pen with him. "Anyway, what can I get you today?"

Keith's eyes widened, almost dropping the menu he was holding. "Fever? What's his temperature? Did he look pale? Why was he here if he was sick? Is—" Pidge cut him off by shoving a tart into his open mouth. Seriously, Lance and Keith still hadn't talked in weeks. Pidge would be lying if she said she hasn't been coercing Lance to talk to Keith, but the former was just so stubborn. They obviously care so much for each other.

"Hunk, I think Keith will have his usual and some time to chill the fuck out." The Samoan nodded before chuckling to himself and heading back to give Keith's order, well, more like Pidge's. Once the raven had calmed down, Pidge gave him a sip from her drink. "Seriously, dude. If you and Lance miss each other so much, why not talk to each other?"

The raven shook his head, before running his fingers through his hair. "It's complicated, Katie. Lance hates my guts—even more than he did when we were kids! I've tried to talk to him, but he just pushes me away." Keith sighed, before slamming his head on the table.

"Hunk, are you sure your friends are fine?" Mrs. Garrett asked, peeking from the kitchen. "Why'd you asked, mama?" She shook her head, before laughing softly. "I'm just afraid they might get a concussion from hitting their head on the table, sweetie." Hunk laughed at that statement, before continuing to watch Keith's suffering from the sidelines.

Pidge furrowed her brows, fighting the urge to hit her head on the table as well. She's done before, over a multitude of times. And the last time she did, she actually got hurt and had to ice her forehead. "Keith, Lance is an idiot. You're an idiot. Both of you are idiots!" This caught the raven's attention, lifting his head to meet the petite girl's gaze. "Why?"

Pidge's eyes widened, before exasperatedly pulling at her hair. "Dude! Last week, you had a concert, right?" Keith nodded, recalling the events of last week. "Remember, how I told you that I invited Lance and you said that he wouldn't show up. Guess fucking what? He fucking showed up." Keith's eyes widened at the revelation, Lance went to his concert? While the raven was taking his time to process the information, Pidge continued her story.

"He stayed at the very back, and I'll tell you this, he sang along to every song. Every. Goddamn, motherfucking. Song." Hunk came back with Keith's order, raising a brow at what was happening. "Care to enlighten me, Pidgeon?" Hunk asked, wiping his hands on his apron. "I'm telling Keith about the concert last week," said the gremlin before taking a sip from her half-empty drink. "Oh, you mean the one where Lance sang along to every song like his ABCs? Fun times, fun times."

Keith just couldn't believe it. Lance still supported him, despite everything he did? "Not just that, Akira. Remember the time Lance was chosen to represent Voltron City High School in swimming? Yeah, he said the same thing you did. But you also went there, right?" The raven recalled driving his motorcycle from Voltron to Altea, he emptied a weeks worth of gas just to watch Lance. He was a tad bit late though, cause when he got there the winner had already been announced and everyone was already congratulating Lance.

He was so proud of the brunet, although he wished he could say it to him face to face and maybe even give a kiss—wait, no why would he? Lance probably doesn't like—no, Lance hates his guts.

"That still doesn't mean anything! He could've just went to the concert because of Ezor! They are friends!" Hunk shook his head, before taking the seat next to Pidge's. "Keith, I care for both you and Lance, seriously! One of you should stop this bullshit and just talk! Lance thinks you gave up on him so easily, while you think he hates your guts! Stop making assumptions about each other and just sort things out!" Hunk said exasperatedly, before throwing his hands dramatically and going back to the counter.

Keith ate his food, thinking about what the two had just said. It's almost Christmas, meaning it's almost New Year. And he had made it his resolution to sort things out with the people around him, before college. Don't want any old high school acquaintance going after him after college, for some dumb thing he did or said as a moody teen. He thought about it after the talk with his parents and after talking it through with Acxa. So far, he had made peace with almost everybody, except Lance.

After eating, he bid Pidge, Hunk, and Mrs. Garrett goodbye. He had to do something about Lance.

* * *

After the raven left, Pidge hurriedly called Hunk over.

"Dude, did you know Lance and Keith are engaged?" Hunk's eyes widened, before shaking his head and taking a step back. "I swear, Pidge, if this is a prank—" Pidge cut him off before he could finish his sentence. "I'm not, Hunk. It's true, Lance told me himself." Hunk looked around, before shaking his head. "Fine, we'll talk about it after my shift. Only thirty minutes more," he said. Pidge nodded, before telling him to meet her at the bookshop and leaving.

She spent thirty minutes in the bookshop, researching more about the Altea family. Which according to Lance's stories, were their ancestors. Pidge was far too focused on the book in her hands, that Hunk decided to play a neat little trick on her.

He sneakily went behind her, before pulling off her glasses and hiding the behind a bookshelf. "Hey!" The brunette exclaimed, before jumping on her feet and marching to where Hunk was hiding. She quickly snatched her glasses back, before going back to her reading.

"So, care to enlighten me about this engagement thing?" Hunk asked, taking a seat next to Pidge, who was surrounded by many books regarding the Arus' history and whatnot. Pidge sighed, before turning to Hunk. She began to paraphrase everything that Lance told her, watching as Hunk's face shifted from curiosity to confusion. "Wait, wait. You're telling me, that Aunt Rosa and Uncle Charles, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Kogane, are technically putting their children's lives at stake for the sake of some dumb family tradition?" Pidge shrugged before nodding, looking back down at her book. "That's crazy!"

Hunk was still wrapping his head around the information, when he noticed Pidge being blasé to the fact that their two best friends might end up dying. "How are you not phased by this? And what are you doing anyway?" Hunk asked, quickly snatching the book from the brunette's hands.

"Excuse me, I was reading that!" Pidge tried to get the book back, but Hunk was using his height against her. Which was a dumb move, considering that Pidge was capable of climbing him and stealing the book away. "No, not until you explain to me what's happening, Pidge. You might know a lot about these things, but I need to know too!" Pidge sighed, before plopping back to her sitting position.

"Fine, I'll tell you"

 

* * *

_"The other day, I went to the McClains' place and decided to ask Uncle Charles what the deal was with Lance and Keith..."_

 

_Pidge waved hello to Ms. Honerva, before heading to Mr. McClain's office. She knocked on the door, before patiently waiting for a response. When there was none, she decided to open it._

_"Mr. McClain? Uncle Charles? It's me, Katie." Entering the room, she noticed the man was talking to someone on the phone. He gave her a quick thumbs up and nod, before gesturing for her to sit down._

_After the call, the man turned to Pidge with a smile. He had graying black hair and smile lines on his face, dark brown eyes and a nice tan. He has the same elvish features and mischievous smile as Lance._

_"Katie! What can I do for you on this lovely day?" Mr. McClain asked, his smile never faltering. Pidge felt a tug on the corners of her mouth, the same infectious smile that Lance inherited. It almost made her forget what she was here for, longing instead to have a long conversation about their day and just chat._

_No, she has to focus. She has to ask him._

_"Um, Mr. McClain—" She was cut off by the older man holding up a hand and shaking his head. "Katie, how many times do I have to tell you? Call me Uncle Charles! I've been telling you kids that for so long, but whatever makes you all comfortable, I guess." He shook his head with a laugh, before his eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry! Go on, go on."_

_Pidge smiled, before continuing. "Well, Uncle Charles. Lance told me something the other day, about him and Keith. He said that they were engaged, so I got curious and wanted to ask if that were all true?" Uncle Charles' smile faltered, as he sighed before running a hand through his hair._

_"I wish I could say it wasn't, but that would be a lie. Yes, Katie. Lance and Keith are engaged and it was all because of the family tradition that he most probably mentioned." He said, tapping his fingers on the wooden desk. "But why? It's the 21st century, they both deserve to choose who they should marry and whatnot! Not to mention, didn't the tradition state that there like a 3.33% chance of Lance and Keith actually being the reincarnations of Shiro and Allura!"_

_Pidge panted, all her pent up emotions regarding the tradition and whatnot finally spilling out. Although, it was wrong to do so. She had technically told Uncle Charles that he was a bad father and that was very wrong. "Uncle, please. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" Mr. McClain shook his head, before breaking down. It was shocking to watch the usually enthusiastic man with one of the most infectious smiles just break down and start crying, it was so surreal._

_It took him a while to calm himself and even by then, he was still panting. "It's fi—It's really alright, Pidge. You're right, Lance should have the choice. But I just can't—" Uncle Charles hiccuped, before wiping his tears. "It's hard to understand, Pidge. I've known this thing all my life and I still can't wrap my head around this tradition, but there came a time when this tradition was stopped, it was stopped. Both our families couldn't bear to see so much bloodshed because of the curse, but it changed..."_

_He brought out a leather journal, before sliding it over to Pidge. "It was my father's, he said it belonged to one of our ancestors, a witch." He took a sip from his coffee mug, before continuing to explain. "They had dreams and were able to conjure the pagan gods of old, including Venus. In this journal, they wrote down everything the old goddess told them. About the family tradition." Pidge carefully picked up the journal, which was written by what seemed to be different people._

_"Venus gave hints of who Allura's reincarnation may be and when they might be born, leaving many ciphers to be solved. It was only solved when my father and I contacted one of the most brilliant minds on earth, your dad." Pidge looked up at the mention of her dad. He helped in all of this?_

_"Your dad and I have been friends since college and I've always known he had a knack for codes, so I asked him to decipher this one." Mr. McClain took the journal, before opening it and turning it to a specific page. He gave her the journal back, revealing a complex set of ciphers and codes written in one page. Pidge's eyes widened._

_There was so much information to take in, it must've been a miracle for her dad to solve this._

_"It took him three years," said Mr. McClain. "Three long years, for one measly message." He showed the very last page, written in her dad's familiar handwriting._

_Blue eyes that hold the sea_   
_Unusual for a child to have the galaxy_   
_Julius with 28 senators as company_   
_A fruit in pyre_

_Pidge stared at text for a while, furrowing her brows. "What does this have to say about Lance and Keith?" Mr. McClain stayed quiet, debating whether to speak or no._

_But just before he could say anything, a knock was heard. Looking down at his wristwatch, Uncle Charles whispered a curse. "Katie, we'll talk about this next time."_

 

* * *

"So, that was it? Some cryptic message and that already proved that Lance and Keith are Allura and Shiro?" Hunk asked, taking a bit from his granola bar _._

They were still in the bookshop, but this time they had occupied the entire aisle dedicated to the National History of Arus. "It wasn't just that, Hunk." Pidge argued, putting her book down. "The month of July was named after Julius Caesar and Lance was born on the twenty-eighth—I mean, this can't just be coincidence, right?"

Hunk sighed, she had a point. "But that still doesn't explain Keith!" Pidge sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "I—I honestly don't know why I do this, I should just stop this nonsense." Hunk watched as the petite girl returned all the books to their proper place, but one particular book caught his attention.

"Pidge, give me that." The brunette looked at the book in her hand, before shrugging and giving it to him. Hunk opened flipped through the pages, till he found what he was looking for. Pidge continued on with returning all the books, while Hunk took out his phone and took a pic of the page.

"What's wrong, Hunk?" The brunette asked, taking a look at the page. The Samoan was quick to point out a specific part. "The Fruit in Pyre was a book published in 1320 and was about a young man named Kethyr who was destined to meet his love 699 years later," said Hunk. Pidge's eyes widened, before hurriedly standing up.

Just as she was about to leave, Hunk stopped her by grabbing her wrist. "Where do you think you're going?" Pidge is one of the most stubborn people in this world and there was no way for him to stop her, but all he needs at the moment, is an explanation. "A book that old can only be found in the city library, I have to find it."

"Why?"

With that question, Pidge stared at Hunk with determination written on her face. "Because I'm gonna find a way to ensure my friends' safety and survival or if not, maybe find proof to disprove everything that Uncle Charles showed me. I can't let them die just because of some dumb shit like that, or at least spend their lives suffering with each other because their parents made them marry." She huffed out.

Hunk rubbed his face, before sighing. "God, I can't believe you actually gave me an acceptable reason to help you." Pidge's eyes widened, her lips curling into a smile.  
  
"Come on, let's go."


	21. Reunion

* * *

_The afternoon sun's golden rays seeped through the thin white curtains of Veronica's room. The fan's gentle hum and air, helped cool the room. Rachel had her eyes closed, allowing her sister to do her work without disturbance._

_Uncharacteristically, Lance sat quietly away from the two girls. He watched closely as Veronica gently brushed a bit of color on Rachel's cheeks, before moving on to apply lip tint. The eldest McClain sister uncapped it, before applying it to her younger sister's plump lips. It was a beautiful shade of red, that wasn't to bright nor too dark. It didn't look too artificial and looked natural against Rachel's skin tone. For once in all the eight years Lance has been alive, he's willing to say that his older sister actually looked beautiful with sincerity._

_After Veronica had applied the finishing touches, Rachel turned to face Lance. "How do I look, Lance?" The brunet stayed quiet, admiring his sister's face for a good minute or so. They were going to a party that their dad's coworker was holding, so they all had to dress up. Lance was wearing a dress shirt and some slacks, but has yet to put on the loafers his mama had told him to wear._

_Finally, remembering how to speak, Lance replied. "You look beautiful, Rachel." The older McClain smiled, before thanking him. Veronica was putting all her things back and noticed that Lance was staring the lip tint she used on Rachel. She grabbed it before turning to face Lance, she spoke. "Do you wanna try, Lance?"_

_Lance felt his face become hotter and heftly turned away, shaking his head. "Uh, no! Boys don't wear dumb things like makeup and stuff!" He heard the two girls chuckle, before turning to face them. "It's okay to be a boy and want to wear makeup, Lance. Just like how it's okay to be a girl and want to play with trucks and swords," said Rachel whose hand was placed on his shoulder._

_Lance stared at his sisters then at the liptint, he immediately nodded. "I want to try too," he said. Veronica smiled, before applying the liptint on Lance as well. When it was done, she handed over her hand mirror. Lance stared at himself for a while, before giving them in usual cheeky grin. "Not bad, but I do have to say that I rock this better than you, Rach." The three siblings laughed, as Rachel ruffled his hair._

* * *

 

 

Lance sighed, staring at his reflection in the same hand mirror. His fever had gone a few days ago, fortunately a few days before Rachel's homecoming. It had been years since he'd last seen her face to face.

Back then, they were still living in Cuba with his maternal great-aunt, who was very sick. Their mama was very close to her aunt and wanted to take care of her. But when said aunt had passed, they went to Arus.

Only Rachel stayed.

She had gotten a letter of acceptance from her dream school, days before their flight back home. She was only 11 and had just graduated elementary school, she begged their parents to let her stay. Their parents were hesitant, but seeing her so determined, they relented. It hurt Lance to be separated from her, they were like twins. Rachel was his closest sibling, they swore to be there for each other. But alas, Lance knew how much studying at that school meant to her.

They left and she was there with their extended family, waving goodbye as they boarded the plane. Lance had never hated flying away so much in his life, and it was his dream to become a pilot or an astronaut. To say that he missed her, was a fucking understatement. There are many days and nights wherein he just longed for her voice and her touch to comfort him, but she wasn't there. One of those nights being the night after their school function, when he saw Acxa and Keith kissing under the gaze of the goddess of love. Sure, there were many ways to communicate. But with her busy schedule and the different time zones between Arus and Cuba, Lance just felt so helpless.

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door. It was Miss Honerva.

"Sir Lance, your father wants to speak to you." The older woman said, as Lance nodded before standing up from his bed.

They headed down to his father office. Miss Honerva knocked for him and opened the door. Lance thanked her, before entering his father's office. "You called for me, Papa?" Mr. McClain smiled, before gesturing the seat to Lance. The brunet took his seat, before his father began to speak. "Have you heard anything from your sister Lance? Did Rachel mention anything about coming home for Christmas this year?"

 

_"If they ask, tell them that I might not come home since I wanted to finish my thesis."_

_"Have you finished your thesis yet?"_

_"Leandro!"_

 

Lance put on a fake look of slight disappointment and sadness, before answering. "She said she might not make this year, since she wanted to finish her thesis already." He said, the lie exiting his lips naturally. He prayed for forgiveness for lying and that his dad would buy it and thank the gods, he did. Charles McClain sighed, his eyes showing sadness yet understanding. "That girl is so diligent, _too_ diligent sometimes."

Lance fought the urge to roll his eyes at that statement. Rachel, diligent? That girl is the queen of procrastination! She once did a 50 page essay, back to back, a night before submission. And got good marks for it too! Lance has no idea how she does it and probably never will.

Mr. McClain sighed once more, before turning to look at his son. "How are you, Lance? Have you and Keith—" The brunet quickly stood up, he didn't feel like talking about Keith at the moment.

"I have to go somewhere, dad. Hunk and I are hanging out, don't worry, I'll be home in time for the party." Mr. McClain raised a brow, before speaking. "Hang out? You two will meet later, do you really have to go?"

Lance didn't want to lie more to his dad, so he used his secret weapon.

Mr. McClain raised a brow, before Lance turned to meet his gaze. His blue eyes wide and begging, lips in a cute pout. To outsiders, Lance would look so annoying and desperate. But by the gods, does he look so adorable in his father's eyes.

"Please, papa."

Charles sighed, before nodding and making a shooing gesture towards Lance. The brunet grinned, pecking a quick kiss to his dad's cheek, before running off to 'meet with Hunk'.

Lance ran towards the garage, quickly grabbing his keys from the hook. Contrary to Pidge's teasing about him turning 18 and having no car, he actually does. It was his dad's first car, which is older than Veronica. He gave it to him for his 16th birthday and boy, he so did not tear up when his dad handed over the keys and winked at him.

He ran his hand over the hood of the 1955 bright blue Cadillac Eldorado, that his dad has cherished for more than 20 years. The old man made many memories here and, according to him, some of them might have been conceived in this very car. A fact that Lance wished his father didn't share with them. His dad pulled so many strings just to get this beautiful girl from Cuba to Arus, it was his first born child!

Sighing, he quickly entered the car before sticking the key in and driving off to the airport. Rachel was going to be so jealous.

* * *

  
"I don't think we have that book here, sir. But if you want, I'll try to look for it."

Pidge groaned, while Hunk thanked the librarian for her help. Taking a seat next to the brunette, Hunk ran a hand through his hair. "We've been through three of the oldest libraries in Voltron, Pidge. And we still hadn't found it! Did you check online?" He asked, watching the petite girl finish her bottle of Mountain Dew in tne gulp. "I did and only five copies of the book exists today!" Pidge exclaimed, unable to keep her frustrations down. "Turns out, the book was written only for Arusians and was basically ignored by everyone else, since it's nothing but your typical storybook!"

Hunk sighed, before shaking his head. He was about to suggest leaving, when he noticed a familiar face. He felt those butterflies in his stomach begin to flutter, before going towards the person's direction.

Pidge, too caught up in her thoughts, hadn't realized that her companion had left her. "I know you think we've been wasting our time, but we shouldn't lose hope, Hunk—Hunk?" Pidge looked around, before seeing where her friend went off to. By the entrance, there was Shay. Smiling and chatting it up with Hunk, who went from gloomy to bright in a matter of seconds after talking to his girlfriend.

Pidge quickly made her way towards the lovely couple. "Shay!" Pidge greeted, earning her glares from many of the people in the library. But that was quickly ignored by the three, after Shay wrapped her arms around the brunette's smaller form. "Hey, Pidge. Hunk was telling me about this specific book you two were looking for," she said. The petite girl sighed, before nodding. "Yeah, I just can't understand why that damned book is so hard to find!" Pidge just rubbed her face, eliciting a sympathetic look from Shay.

"We've begun our search at the start of December and look! It's already Christmas!" Shay chuckled, calming the girl down. "I think I might be able to help you two in your search, but will you be willing to wait till school starts again?" Hunk just watched, while Pidge raised a brow. "How exactly are you going to be able to help us?" The petite girl asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Shay smiled shyly, before speaking.

"The book—Fruit in Pyre, am I right? My grandma has a copy of it, although it's really old." Pidge's eyes widened, as did Hunk's. "Really?" Pidge was feeling like a kid in a candy shop, their hardwork—for their friends, might pay off. "That's why I'm wondering if you'll be willing to wait till school starts, since my grandma lives in the little island, Balmera and we'll be leaving later." Shay said, stealing a loving glance towards Hunk, who had an arm around her waist. "Wait, how did your grandma get a hold of it? I thought there were only five known copies that exist." Hunk asked, while Pidge nodded in agreement.

"I don't know it myself, but I remember seeing that book at her house, I swear. I'll try to ask Grandma if it'll be alright for me to bring it here or what ever it is you guys need, I'm a little curious about that book myself. Since granny treats that book differently." Shay said, recalling the many times her granny screamed whenever someone gets to close to it or even tries to read it. She would say things that it was made for certain eyes only. Although, no one could understand her reasons, they respected her decisions.

After that, the three friends bid each other goodbye. With Hunk and Shay exchanging chaste kisses, while Pidge gagged in the background. "Hey, Pidge." The petite girl stopped tapping her phone to look at her taller friend, who stared at the direction where his girlfriend went. "What time is it?" Hunk asked, while Pidge made a quick check. "It's almost six, why'd you ask?"

Hunk's eyes widened in realization, before quickly turning to Pidge. "I have to go help mom cook! The christmas party's tonight, remember?" Pidge's eyes also widened, before the two teens quickly bid each other goodbye before dashing to their houses.

* * *

  
At the McClain house, Lance had just parked his car in the garage. He was helping his sister, Rachel, sneak into the house. When their surprise was foiled by none other than Mama Rosa Espinosa-McClain hersef.

"Rachel! Mija, you're home! I missed you so much, baby!" Rachel found herself being attacked with many kisses to the face and hair, while being trapped in a group hug by her family. "When did you get home?" Veronica, who had come back from her thing with NASA a week ago, asked after everyone had decided to give the other McClain sister some space to breathe. "Just today! I had booked a month earlier and was planning a surprise for all of you with the help of Lance, though Mama foiled it." The whole family bursted out laughing, as they made their way to the living room where they began to exchange stories and catch up.

Halfway through asking Marco about she does, Rachel turned to her father before saying. "Papa, I'm sorry I couldn't make it home for the death anniversary."

Suddenly, the room fell quiet.

Lance abruptly excused himself before running upstairs to his room, leaving a guilty Rachel trying to race after him. But Marco stopped her, shaking his head before speaking. "He needs some time, Rachel." Luis bowed his head, while Veronica comforted her sister.

They all prepared and cooked for the Christmas party, the four families usually have together. Last year, they had held the party at the Holts' place, this year it was at the McClains. The Garretts were the first to comeover, bringing food and party games with them. Luisito was happy to see Hana and her cousins. Following the Garretts were the Holts, with Pidge quickly going up to Hunk and the two began to discuss something privately in the corner. The last family was come were the Koganes, who had also brought food with them.

Keith looked around for a mop of brown hair and blue eyes, but was disappointed to see none. "Are you looking for Lance?" Veronica asked, giving Keith a cup of soda. The raven nodded, before noticing the different things about the eldest McClain sister. She no longer has dyed brown hair that she usually straightens, but instead keeps her natural black curly hair. "I don't think, you'll be seeing him till Noche Buena." Keith sighs, before taking an interest in the new arrivals to the party.

A young woman and two kids, who both look younger than Luis. Mr. and Mrs. McClain give her a hug, as well as the children, who Luis had pulled into a game with Hana and her cousins. "That's Lisa," Veronica said, gesturing to the young woman who was currently greeting everyone. "She's our sister in law."

Keith's brows furrowed, but before he had the chance to ask Veronica about it, the young woman was already making her way towards them. "Veronica!" The woman exclaimed, before embracing the McClain sister. "Lisa, how are you? How was the trip?" The raven awkwardly stayed still, watching the two women interact, while he took a sip from his cup. "Anyway, Lisa. This is Keith." The mentioning of his name snapped Keith out of his trance, before shaking the lady's outstretched hand. "Hello, Keith. It's nice to finally meet you, I'm Lisa."

The raven gave a polite nod and a shy smile, before he felt someone tap his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Luis and the group of kids. "Keith, the girls were wondering if they could braid your hair? They already braided Rachel's hair, could they braid yours?" From the corner, he heard Pidge bursting out in laughter while Hunk shot him a sympathetic look. "Uhm," Keith intelligently answered. But before he could say anything, came Mrs. McClain. "Keith, can you do me a favor and call Lance? He's upstairs in his room," said the older woman.

Keith nodded quickly, before quickly making his way to Lance's room.

Lisa turned to the two women, before saying. "Nice young man," she said. Veronica and Rosa smiled, before making their way back to their respective tasks.

* * *

  
When Keith reached Lance's door, he hesitated to knock. Would Lance even want to see him? They haven't talked in like a month or so, what would make this different? What would he even say? Would Lance even open the door for him?

Just before Keith could decide what to do, the door opened, causing him to jump a little in surprise.

"Keith?"

The raven was surprised to see the sight before him. Lance's blue eyes were bloodshot and he had snot down his nose. His hair was all messed up and had some sleep marks on his face. "What are you doing here?" The brunet asked, quicklg wiping at the tear stains on his cheeks. "Lance," Keith began. "Are you alright?"

The brunet scoffed, before replying. "Do I look alright to you? Of course, I'm alright!" Keith couldn't care if the response was sarcastic or not, all he did was wrap his arms around the other. Lance stiffened at the contact, before eventually breaking down crying. The raven guided the brunet back into bed, where Lance continued to sob on his shoulder.

Keith had no idea what to do, but rather than overthink, he decided follow his insticts. He tightened his hold around Lance, drew nonsensical shapes on his back using his finger. Ran his fingers through the brown locks and when the brunet finally looked up, wiped his tears away. After a while, Lance's crying stopped all together. Leaving him occasionally sniffing and wiping his eyes dry. There was a comfortable silence between them, before Lance broke it. "Thank you," he whispered, voice rough. Keith didn't know what to say, so he placed his hand over Lance's.

"What's wrong?" He asked, watching the other boy carefully. Lance took a deep breath in, before answering. "I'm sorry for messing up your shirt, it's Christmas and yet I mess your shirt up." Keith took a deep breath in, before speaking. "Lance, I want to talk with you. I want you to know that I'm sorry," he said. The brunet furrowed his brows, before realizing what the raven was talking about. He took his hand away from Keith's, feeling his heart break as he did.

"You have nothing to be sorry about Keith, you and Acxa have feelings for each—" Lance was quickly cut off by Keith, who looked so desperate for something. "That's where you're wrong, Lance. I'm sorry for hurting your feelings, but I don't like Acxa! I've been trying to say that for a whole month now!" Keith exclaimed, his frustrations finay catching up with him. Lance's blue eyes widened at the revelation, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"But you two kissed! I saw it!" Keith groaned, wanting to bang his head against the wall over and over again till his skull cracked open. "No, Lance. She kissed me and confessed, but I don't like her that way! I like someone else! And that's you, Lance!" The brunet was rendered speechless, while the raven realized what he had said. Deciding to grow a pair, Keith continued. "For the entire month I wasn't able to talk to you or even be around you, without you running away from me. I realized how much I appreciate your presence in my life, whether you argue and make everything into a competition or just act normal and nice with me. I missed your dumb pickup lines and your cheeky smiles. But above everything else, I missed you."

Lance took a deep breath in, before speaking. "You like me? You missed me? And you aren't dating Acxa?" Keith rolled his eyes, before nodding. Lance allowed all the information to sink in, so all along he's been ignoring Keith for nothing?

"But if you liked me, why didn't you try to talk to me? Why did you give up immediately after a few weeks of trying?" Lance asked, while Keith shook his head. "Because I thought you hate me!"

 

"But I could never hate you, I like you!"

 

It was Keith's turn to take a deep breath in, while Lance felt his cheeks warm up. They met gazes, purple and blue. Before breaking out in laughter.

After calming down, they smiled at each other. "I guess we were both idiots," said Lance. Keith snorted, before nodding. "Yeah, that's what Pidge said the day you had to go home." They spent the next few minutes basking in each other's presence, not closing nor widening the distance between them.

After a while, it was Keith who sat up first, Lance quickly following suit. "We have to go, your mom's probably wondering what's taking us so long." Keith was just about to leave, when Lance quickly grabbed his wrist. "Can we just stay here instead?" The brunet asked, while Keith shook his head. "You're the extroverted one, Lance. Shouldn't you be the one who should be pulling me downstairs?" Lance sighed, before plopping down on his bed. "Is Lisa, Nadia, and Sylvio down there?"

Keith furrowed his brows, but quickly realized thag he was referring to his sister-in-law. "Yeah, they were the last ones to arrive. Why? What's wrong?" But Lance stayed quiet, his blue eyes filled with tears. Keith help Lance up, before wiping his tears away. "Hey, what's wrong, Lance?" The brunet took a deep breath in, before speaking.

"There should be six of us, six McClain siblings." Lance said, before breathing out. "I had another older brother, the eldest, his name was Luis, Lisa's wife and Nadia and Sylvio's father." Keith's eyes widened at the revelation. Despite knowing the McClains for so long, he had no idea about Lance having another older brother. "When I was 6, my mama gave birth to a little boy, who was 25 weeks premature. My parents were in the hospital often, so I usually spent my time with my siblings and grandparents." Lance fisted the blanket in his hands, before continuing.

"Luis, the eldest, was 18 at the time and was dating Lisa, who was unaware that she was pregnant with Nadia and Sylvio. He drove us everywhere, whenever grandpa was busy. I was a brat and I loved Luis with all my heart, so one night..." Lance's eyes began to water, while Keith put a hand on his shoulder. "Lance, you don't have—" He was cut off by the brunet, who had a determined look on his face. "It's okay, Keith. I have to get over this and talking about it, well, it may help me get over his death." Taking a deep breath in, Lance continued the story, while Keith intertwined their fingers.

"One night, I wanted to be with mama and papa. My grandparents tried to calm me down, but I just wouldn't. So when Luis came home, he decided to drive me to the hospital to see Mama and Papa, as well as check on the baby. It was raining heavily, so the roads were really wet. I didn't remember what I did or said, but I remember being in the backseat when the car hit the tree." The tears fell freely from Lance's eyes, as he recalled the sight of broken glass and blood. "He—Luis was, slumped over the steering wheel. I remember being trapped between the driver's seat and crying for him to wake up, but he didn't..." Lance gripped Keith's hand, as he struggled to breathe.

"Hey, hey. Look at me, Lance. Breathe in through the nose and breathe out through the mouth, breathe in, breathe out." Keith instructed, maintaining in contact with the other boy. After a while, Lance calmed and continued the story. "We were brought to the hospital, I only had a few minor injuries while Luis... He—he was dead on arrival. My family never blamed me for his death, but I couldn't help but be guilty. Especially the night after his funeral, when Lisa admitted that she was pregnant." Keith wrapped his arms around Lance, who let out a humorless laugh.

"I'm a murderer who not only took a man from his family, but a father from his children." Keith shook his head, wiping Lance's tears away. "You were young and dumb, your mistakes in the past don't define you. It's how you've grown from them," said Keith. "A wise man once told me that if the whole world is against you, at least the universe has got your back." Lance returned the embrace, as Keith continued. He felt something, like he should say something important, so he did.

 

"It's not your fault, Lance. It was never your fault. I'm sorry for everything."

 

Keith pulled away from the embrace, staring into those blue eyes. Lance realized how amazing Keith looked bathing in the moon's glow, that seeped through his curtains. Leaning forward and closing his eyes, he pressed his lips against his.

And for some reason, Lance felt all the weight he's been carrying. All that guilt. That sorrow. That insecurity be lifted from his shoulders. He's well aware that they're never going to disappear, but for once in his life, he finally got those voices of doubt to shut up.

Pulling away, Lance and Keith stared into each other's eyes, before a knock interrupted their little moment. "Lance? Keith?" It was Hunk, Lance smiled before speaking. "We'll be down in a minute!"

The two boys smiled at each other, their pinky fingers wrapped around each other as they went downstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! 
> 
> Moral from this chapter, there are a lot of things that can be solved by simple discussions!
> 
> Thank you all once again!


	22. Video Chats and Kisses Blown

* * *

"The entire thing is handwritten!"

Was the first thing that came out of Shay's lips, when Hunk finally answered her video call.

"What?"

Hunk had just finished what seemed to be a long night of partying. To those who say that parties with parents are boring, may be proven wrong when attending a party that has the Garretts, Holts, McClains, and Koganes in one house with alcoholic beverages and delicious food.

The party started with an early dinner, which isn't much. Not too much to make you feel stuffed, nor too little to make it a snack. Just enough to tease you into wanting more, while leaving some for more. Followed by everyone just doing their own thing. The kids playing games, the teens just doing shits with each other, and the adults chatting it up. Everything was pretty peaceful, until Mr. Kogane began to make some Christmas drinks of different varieties.

The kids and teens were given non-alcoholic drink, although that is to be debated upon. Since he's seen Pidge and Matt sneakily take a sip of their parents beverages. Rachel began to play some music and had everyone play stop dance. There was also a dance battle between the dads, on who could make the most awkward Dad dance. Sam Holt came out as the victor, after Pidge and Matt screamed for bleach while the others just cringed.

They played other games like twister, charades, and trivia. After Noche Buena, some dessert and gift-giving everyone had decided to call it a night a left. But Hunk swears, he noticed something different with Lance and Keith as they were saying goodbye.

He might have been very tired already, but he might have seen Lance give Keith a kiss on the cheek. Hunk plans on asking Pidge if she noticed anything odd between the two boys last night, which reminds him of the task at hand.

"You know, the book?" Hunk's eyes widened in realization, before nodding. "Oh yeah! So?" Shay smiled softly at him, before shaking her head. "Well, I asked granny about it. Turns out, there used to be a sixth copy, that had been destroyed long ago."

Hunk quickly sat up at the mention of a sixth copy, eyes wide and sleep having magically faded. "She said that her dad, used to work at the National Archives. And when the war broke out, they began copying every book older than 100 by hand. Fascinating, don't you think?"

Hunk furrowed his brows, rubbing his eyes. "Yes, but—but how is it that they say there are only five copies left? When there are clearly six, counting the one your grandmother has!" Shay sighed, before shaking her head. "The five copies left thing, refers to the original books, the ones over centuries old."

"But thay doesn't make sense, if that book has much historicsl significance to be copied by hand, why didn't theh continue to make more copies for the general public?" Hunk asked, his hesd suddenly hurting. All this thinking, all this history. The McClains and the Koganes. Lance and Keith. Their bethrotal and their family's traditions, are just so—Hunk can't even think of a word to describe it!

"That's the thing, Hunk. When I asked Granny this, she just mumbled something about forces trying to rewrite or break something, so I didn't press any further." Sighing, Hunk went to vanity and began to fix himself up while listening to Shay's explanation. "But you and Pidge are gonna love this though," said Shay before disappearing from the camera's view.

Hunk raised a brow, waiting patiently. When Shay reappeared, she held in her hands papers held together by binder rings. "Tada! I may not be able to bring the actual book, but granny allowed me to photocopy it!" Hunk felt a smile begin to form on his face, he wanted to jump through the screen, wrap his arms around Shay, before giving her a sweet kiss of gratitude.

When Shay noticed the lack of response from Hunk, she began to worry that she did something wrong. "Hunk, are you okay?" That seemed to snap the boy from his trance, who gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I'm just so thankful and lucky to have you in my life, that's all." Shay felt her cheeks begin heat up at that statement, when a knock was heard.

"Shay? Come on, granny wants everyone to eat breakfast together. Hurry up!" Hunk smiled, it was Rax, Shay's older brother. The dude may seem a bit intimidating at first, but he's really nothing but a softie at heart. Kind of like Keith or Zethrid.

Shay gave him one last smile, before blowing him a kiss goodbye and the call had ended.

Hunk smiled, before standing up. He couldn't wait for Christmas vacation to end and to have Shay in his arms again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yo! Sorry for being dead for past few weeks or so. And for the short chapter. It had really been a busy week. And my grandfather had passed the day following the last update, but not to worry everything's getting better now. 
> 
> I'll try to make up for the missing weeks—and look at that! Tomorrow marks this book's publishing day! 
> 
> So to everyone who has decided to give this little thing a quick read or binge, I'm so thankful. You have no idea how much it means to see your comments and your support. 
> 
> Thank you, everyone. I hope you all have a splendid day, night, week, month, year and life!


	23. Kids Again

* * *

The harsh cool air, began to warm. In a matter of a few months, the winter break had officially ended. And Spring break was just around the corner, ready to attack anyone with wrench.

Once the final bell rang, students crowded around the doors as teacher were fixing their things. Some went to their respective lockers, others headed straight out the main exit. While some met up with their friends.

Keith looked around the hallways, staying pressed against the lockers to prevent being shoved and trampled by fellow students. He scanned for a familiar mop of brown hair in the crowd, but to no avail. Instead, he saw Pidge, her whole torso sticking out of the crowd.

"There!"

She called out, pointing towards Keith's direction. She then disappeared into the sea of bodies, before reappearing in front of him, after being shived to the side. "Hey! I'm walking here!" She yelled, before removing her bag and hitting random people in the crowd. Behind her, emerged Lance and Hunk. The latter had his arm around Shay, who waved at Keith.

"Hi Keith, sorry to keep you waiting." Hunk greeted, while Lance stayed by his side. "Hey, mullet." The brunet said, a mischievous smile on his face. Keith rolled his eyes, again with that nickname. "Seriously? When will you stop calling me that?" Lance had a glint in his eyes, something akin to a knife being hit by light. "When you get that disgusting thing off your head, that's when I'll call you something else."

Pidge smirked at that statement, before crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh really? Then maybe when you two finally sleep together, you can call him 'Da–" Hunk stopped her there, while Matt bursted out laughing at Keith's and Lance's flustered faces. Shay shook her head, before clearing her throat, with a smile on her face.

"Anyway, guys. Since Spring break is almost here, maybe we can all hang out?" Shay said, getting everyone's attention. Lance grinned at her, forgetting what happened earlier at her suggestion. "Yeah! How about next week at the park?" He asked, watching as everyone nodded in agreement. Keith simply shrugged, causing Lance to raise a brow at him. "Do... You have plans, mullet?"

Keith grimaced, before shrugging. "We have a gig next week, we'll be going to Altea." Lance frowned, but stayed quiet. There were a few moments of silence, before Matt spoke up. "Well, why don't we go on a road trip? Afterall, after spring break we'll be crawling our way through the final exams. Then it's off to college for us," he said.

"Yeah, Matt has a good idea—"

"Which, I am full of."

Pidge ignored his statement, and continued what she was saying. "We could ask permission to use Mrs. Garret's car or use Matt's new car," the latter part had received a lot of negative statements from the aforementioned owner of the said vehicle. The others exchanged looks, before agreeing. As they walked out the building, Lance pumped his fist in the air before yelling out.

"Road Trip!"

 

* * *

 

It was 4 am, the sun hadn't even risen yet. Pidge was already awake, checking her things for what seemed like the hundredth time. After making sure she had everything in her bag, a knock was heard. She opened her bedroom door, only to be greeted by Matt, who already had his bag on. "You ready?" He asked, examining his sister's backpack. Pidge nodded, before quickly checking her phone. "It's 4:05, Hunk isn't gonna be picking us up till 4:15. Why so early?" Matt raised a brow, before pulling her towards the kitchen.

Sitting on the dining table was their mom, holding a cup of coffee and munching on a piece of toast. After noticing their presence, Coleen immediately went up to hug them. Pidge and Matt exchanged looks, before shrugging. Their mom had been so reluctant about leaving them alone, especially after the plane crash with Matt and their dad. She was so scared, and she still is. Though around people, she wouldn't let it show. Those were her babies, and they're gonna be gone for God knows how long!

"It's only a few days, mom."

Their mother also has a habit of thinking out loud.

Pidge pulled away, before giggling. "Don't worry, mom. It runs in the family," she said. Matt reluctantly pulled away, but refused to leave her side. "Oh, Matty. If you're gonna be like this for a trip that will last a few days, how will you be when you go to college?" Mrs. Holt jokingly said, while Matt shook his head. It was no secret that Matt Holt was a mama's boy, while Pidge was a daddy's girl. "Oh, my babies are growing up so quickly!" She pressed a kiss to each of their cheeks, much to the siblings' disapproval.

"Hey, hey. Already saying goodbye without me?"

They turned around to see their dad coming downstairs, still in his pajamas and glasses askew. Pidge immediately ran into her father's arms, while Matt quickly followed. Mr. Holt fell backwards, while Bae-Bae barked happily at the commotion. "Okay now, I think Hunk's outside already." Mr. Holt said, rubbing his backside to try and soothe the pain from the impact. The Holt kids, bid their parents farewell one last time before running to Hunk's car.

"Have fun, kids!" Mr. Holt called out, waving at the teens. "And don't forget to put on sunscreen, unless you two want to turn into a tomato!" Mrs. Holt added, causing them to burst out laughing.

Once inside, Pidge realized that they were the first ones to be picked up. "Hey, I thought I called shotgun?" Matt complained, while Hunk gave them both two tupperwares, which Pidge happily took and wolfed down. "Thwanck chu, Hwucnk." Pidge said, mouth full of food, much to Hunk's disapproval. "Sorry, Matt. But someone already reserved shotgun, before you." Matt's eyes widened, before clutching his chest and falling back dramatically. "Oh the betrayal!" He shouted, while Hunk simply rolled his eyes.

They stopped by the McClains next, where Lance was already outside the gates. Tapping away at his phone, brows furrowed. "I wonder who he's texting?" Matt said, after taking a fifth selfie with Hunk. Pidge snorted, after chugging down hot coffee like it was nothing, much to Hunk's horror. "How the cheese do you do that!?" Hunk exclaimed, a statement which Pidge ignored. "Duh, Keith. Isn't it obvious?" Matt observed Lance carefully, while the brunette continued with her statement.

"He has a crooked smile on his face, legs crossed—like gays do. Not to mention, his face is slightly red too, probably cuz Keith casually flirted with him. His brows are furrowed, probably cuz of something that Keith said that either annoyed him or generally has him concerned." Hunk and Matt exchanged looks, before making a face at her. "What?"

When Lance noticed their arrival, he quickly went up to the passenger door, which Hunk had promptly locked. "Hunk! I called shotgun!" Lance yelled, while Hunk gestured to the back. Lance huffed, before opening the door and sitting at the back. Matt placed a hand on his shoulder, before sighing. "I feel you, bro."

Hunk looked at them at the mirror, before turning to face them. "So, next stop Keith's." As Hunk was about to move, Lance spoke. "Keith said he isn't going to go with us on the way, he had to leave early cuz they had to fix something at the location." Pidge could see that Lance looked a bit disappointed, whether it was the shotgun thing or Keith, is unclear to her.

When they get to Shay's, Matt and Lance didn't even bother to complain when Shay greeted them good morning and sitting on the passenger seat, before proceeding to give everyone a paper bag full of food, drinks, and snacks. Not to mention, her immediately giving Pidge the password to her pocket wifi. Because honestly, who could ever be annoyed after all that. Shay was an angel to everyone around her, anyone who says otherwise, will probably get a beating from an entire army of people.

An hour later, Lance was pretty much the only one awake, after Hunk. Matt and Pidge had passed out, with the latter's head on her brother's shoulder. Shay had a neck pillow and was snoring softly. The entire van was quiet, and sadly, Lance forgot his headset. He was fidgeting from the silence, it made him so uncomfortable. He was born and raised to love and breathe music, their entire family was. He needed something to dance to or sing along, it was killing him.

"Hunk, can we turn on the radio? We'll keep it on a low volume, so the others won't wake up?" Lance begged, his voice soft so not to disturb the three others.

"Okay, but if you long to sing along, please not too loud."

Not too long later, after all three had finally woken up. Lance was finally allowed to sing at the top of his lungs, though it took bribing Pidge with coffee before he could.

 _"Oops, I got 99 problems singing bye, bye, bye_  
_Hold up, if you wanna go and take a ride with me_  
_Better hit me, baby, one more time, uh_  
_Paint a picture for you and me_  
_On the days when we were young, uh_  
_Singing at the top of both our lungs_  
_On the day we fell in love"_

 

Lance began to dance, while Shay took a video. Once the song ended, another one quickly played. They had decided to connect it to Matt's phone, which everyone used to download songs they like either individually or together. When the next song played, everyone except Matt, groaned in frustration.

"What the fuck?" Pidge said, after closing the thermos that belonged to Lance. "Did we just get rick-rolled?" Shay asked, while Lance's phone began to ring. He narrowed his eyes at the caller ID, before quickly answering.

"Hey mullet!"

The four others exchanged looks, while they watched Lance converse with Keith.

"No, I told you not until—"

"You asshole! Don't listen to gremlin's advices!"

"Acxa, please make him stop bullying me!"

"Yes, you are!"

Hunk snorted, before speaking. "Um, Lance. Why don't you put it on speaker phone, we'd like to talk to Keith too." He said, while Shay smiled. "Or if you want Keith all for yourself, then—" Before she was even able to finish her sentence, Lance immediately put Keith on speaker phone.

"Hi Keith!" Shay greeted, before the others quickly followed. After a few minutes of joking around, Hunk decided to ask something about their plans. "So what time is your concert anyway?" He asked, eyes never leaving the road ahead. "Later at 5," came the raven's quick reply. "Then why did you have to leave so early?" Lance quickly said, which led to another quarrel between them. "Oh gods, Lance! Can you two stop having an LQ for one minute and let us talk to Keith?" Pidge groaned, while Matt snickered.

Lance flushed, before letting Hunk speak. "When we get to Altea, where do we meet?" There was distant shouting at the other end of the call, before Keigh replied. "There's a diner near a park, we can meet there." He said, before there was a loud crash on the other side. "What happened?" Lance asked, not hiding the concern in his voice. "It's nothing, babe. Someone just dropped a couple of boxes," was Keith's quick reassurance.

There was a moment of silence, before Matt broke it.

"Did Keith just call Lance 'Babe'?"

The aforementioned brunet's eyes widened, while you can hear the embarassment in Keith's voice as he bid them goodbye, promising to text Hunk the name and address of the diner. Lance ended up being quiet, till they got to the diner.

* * *

After exiting the car, Hunk observed the place. "Mawmaw Wimbleton's Diner, right?" Pidge asked, reading the giant red letters of the building. Hunk checked the text Keith dent him, before nodding. "Yup, this is it." Shay looked around, before gesturing towards the large green area to the east. "That must be the park then," she said. "Who else is hungry?" Matt asked, as they went inside.

"Me."

The inside of the diner was pretty much something out of a teen movie set in the 50's or something. There was a jukebook, a glass case full of pictures from what seemed like 100 years ago. And behind the counter was a portrait of a man with ginger hair and a well-kept mustauche, with a sheathed sword at his side. But the smell of the food was mouth-watering, and the group was quick to find an empty table near the windows.

While Lance went to order, Matt went to the restroom. Leaving Hunk, Shay, and Pidge alone together. "So, did you guys find out anything about the Galra and Altea family?" Shay asked, her voice dropping to a whisper, sneaking glances at Lance, who was busy filtering with the girl behind him. After interviews with Mr. McClain, they found out that the marriage tradition could be traced back to the Altea and Galra.

"Not much, since the records were crazy old. But from what I successfully scavenged, both families were living in a little town that used to be bordering between what we now as Altea and VC. But that town was gone for who knows how long?" Hunk groaned, before burying his head in his arms. Shay placed a hand on his shoulder, while Pidge looked at him sympathetically. "Hey, don't give up now. We're in Altea, a place named after the Altea family. Not to mention, this place is crazy old. Maybe we'll find something here," suggest Shay, while Pidge nodded. "Shay's right, Hunk. We shouldn't give up just yet, we have to keep going." Hunk sighed, before nodding.

After meeting Keith and eating lunch, they hung out at the park. Matt and Pidge played at the playground, while Lance and Keith were having hill climbing competitions. Hunk and Shay both sat on the bench, simply talking and enjoying each other's company, sometimes checking on the others to make sure they haven't killed each other yet.

"Why do I feel 20 years older?" Hunk asked, while Lance shrugged. "Beats me, I feel 10 years younger to be honest." Pidge raised a brow, dusting off the sand on her trousers. "Maybe because you two were acting like kids, climbing up and down the tree." Keith rolled his eyes at the statement, taking a quick sip from his water bottle. "Says the one who played in the sand box," he said. The brunet and the raven high fived, while Matt rolled his eyes. "First of all, we made a highly sophisticated piece of architecture made out of sticks, pebbles, water and sand whose likeness is similar to that of the Great Wall of China." Hunk looked at the sandbox, where Pidge and Matt were entertaining themselves and was surprised to see what looked like a mini Great Wall, which was highly detailed.

Shay had gotten up and taken pictures of it, adamant that she will post it on social media. Not that the Holt siblings minded at all, since they honestly didn't care. When Shay returned, Lance, Keith, Pidge, and Matt were having an argument about who acted more childish. Which was quickly ended, when she spoke up.

"It's not the matter of who acted more childish, it's a matter of 'who acted more like a guardian or a parent' kind of situation."

Hunk smiled at their silence, before giving his girlfriend a high five.

"But we still have an unresolved issue!" Matt exclaimed, causing everyone to face him. Brows furrowed in confusion, Keith spoke up. "What is it exactly, Matt?"

 

"Did Keith call Lance 'Babe' or did I just imagine it?"

 

Keith and Lance turned red in embarrassment, while the others laughed in glee and began to tease them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehehehe, I missed Monday again. Sorry.
> 
> And to anyone curious, the song Lance was singing along to was 2002 by Anne Marie. Also the chapter title came from a song of the similar name by Artist vs Poet. 
> 
> Also on an unrelated note, it's kind of my birthday today... 
> 
> Did I post this chapter on my birthday on purpose? Kind of. 
> 
> Consider this a gift from me to all you guys—yes, I know it doesn't work like that. But still! 
> 
> The best birthday gift is seeing all the comments, kudos, and constructive criticisms left on my work. 
> 
> Thank you for everything guys! Have a nice day, night, week, months, year, and life!


End file.
